An Indian court on May 16 sentenced prominent journalist Tarun Tejpal to 10 years in prison for raping a subordinate colleague more than a decade ago, overturning a previous acquittal.
Specifically, a Goa bench of the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of $5,250. He was ordered to surrender within two weeks, according to investigating officer Sunita Sawant, who led the probe into the case.
Tejpal was accused of raping a female colleague in an elevator at a five-star hotel during a Tehelka magazine event in 2013. He denied all allegations and, before sentencing, told the court he believed he was a “political victim,” while also announcing he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
The case unfolded amid heightened public concern in India over sexual violence against women, following the gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012, which sparked massive protests and prompted the government to tighten rape laws.
The latest verdict reversed a 2021 acquittal by a Goa court, which had dismissed charges of rape, sexual harassment, and unlawful confinement against Tejpal. The Goa government subsequently appealed to the Bombay High Court, leading to the overturning of the earlier ruling.
Shortly after the allegations emerged in November 2013, Tejpal initially described the incident as a “grave lapse of judgment.” In an email to staff, he wrote that a “terrible misreading of situation” had led to an “unfortunate incident, contrary to what we believe in and fight for.” He said he would take a six-month leave as a form of “atonement,” which drew outrage and criticism for trivializing the matter. Tejpal was later arrested and spent seven months in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court.
Earlier, he had maintained that the case was “political vendetta” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa.
