NEW DELHI: An Indian court on Thursday sentenced former Tehelka editor and co-founder Tarun Tejpal to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him in a high-profile rape case involving a junior colleague, overturning his earlier acquittal.
The case dates back to November 2013, when Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a young journalist inside the elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa during an official event. The allegations sparked widespread outrage and became one of India’s most closely followed cases related to workplace sexual misconduct.
In 2021, a trial court in Goa acquitted Tejpal of charges including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint. However, the Goa government challenged the verdict before the Bombay High Court, which overturned the acquittal and found him guilty.
Following the conviction, the High Court sentenced the 63-year-old journalist to 10 years in prison and granted him two weeks to surrender before the authorities.
Goa Police investigator Sunita Sawant, who led the investigation, confirmed the court’s decision, adding that Tejpal was also ordered to pay a fine of approximately $5,250.
Reacting to the verdict, Tejpal said he would challenge the conviction in the Supreme Court of India.
“For the past 13 years, they have been pursuing me as part of a political vendetta,” he told reporters after the judgment.
When the allegations first surfaced in 2013, Tejpal described the incident as “a lapse of judgment.” He was arrested later that year and remained in jail for nearly seven months before being granted bail by the Supreme Court.
Over the years, Tejpal has consistently denied the charges and maintained that the case was politically motivated. He has alleged that the prosecution was driven by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa as part of a political campaign against him.
The case has remained one of India’s most prominent legal battles involving allegations of sexual assault in the media industry and has drawn national attention over the past decade. The latest verdict marks a significant development, although the legal proceedings are expected to continue as Tejpal prepares to appeal before the country’s highest court.
