SLP Filed In SC, Evidence Suppressed Absolves Tarun Tejpal Claims Defence

In a twist to the case where the Former Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka Magazine is facing charges of having sexually assaulted a junior colleague in 2013, the petition filed in the Apex Court is claimed to challenge Tejpal’s very prosecution

- Madhavi Gokhlay

Back in November 2013, a junior colleague of journalist and then Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka Magazine, Tarun Tejpal, alleged that he sexually assaulted her in the elevator of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Goa, on two occasions i.e. 7 November and 8 November, 2013, during the time Tehelka Magazine was hosting its annual international event, the THiNK Festival, in Goa. The allegations rocked the nation even as Tejpal stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of the magazine before being arrested in November 2013 on charges of rape and outraging the modesty of a woman. He remained in police and judicial custody for six months before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in July 2014. In December 2017, the Bombay High Court, by its order dismissed Tejpal’s plea for quashing of rape and other charges against him. Tejpal has challenged the Bombay High Court’s order in the Supreme Court. According to reliable sources, Tejpal’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed in the Supreme Court – the focus of which is the CCTV footage and an independent witness’s version – brings to the fore disconcerting details pertaining to the case.

According to these sources, the SLP obliterates all of the Prosecutrix’s allegations, and may prove each and every part of her statement given on oath to the Ld. Magistrate as untrue. This in turn may raise question marks about the practice of recording statements before the Magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.