The Bombay high court at Goa on Thursday overturned a trial court’s 2022 acquittal and sentenced former Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal, to 10 years in jail for raping a junior colleague during the ThinkFest conference at a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013.

Bombay high court convicted former Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal, 61, after he was foud guilty of raping a junior colleague in 2013 (File Photo)

A bench of justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar held that the trial court’s appreciation of evidence was not only unreasonable but perverse, and that its evaluation of the testimony exhibited multiple fatal flaws stemming from “preconceived notions” and reliance on how an "ideal" victim should physically resist or emotionally react.

The high court sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a ₹5 lakh fine under section 376(2)(f) of the Indian Penal Code (rape by a relative, guardian or teacher, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman), 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and ₹5 lakh fine under section 376(2)(f) (rape by a person in position of control or dominance over a woman), one year in prison and ₹10,000 fine under section 354 (criminal force to outrage modesty of woman), one year jail under section 354A (sexual harassment), three years rigorous imprisonment and ₹10,000 fine under section 354B (using criminal force to disrobe a woman), a fine of ₹500 each under sections 341 and 342 (wrongful restraint and punishment for wrongful confinement).

“We find that the victim has made truthful statements, and the prosecution has established the case against the Respondent beyond every reasonable doubt. The Trial Court fell in error in acquitting the respondent of the charges levelled against him. The appreciation of evidence by the Trial Court is not only unreasonable but perverse. The conclusions arrived at by the Trial Court are untenable and, in the established facts and circumstances of the case, the view expressed by it is not a possible view,” the bench said.

“The Trial Court’s findings are directly contrary to the evidence on record and thus per se perverse. The Trial Court’s evaluation of the victim’s testimony and evidence exhibits multiple fatal flaws, largely stemming from preconceived notions and reliance on irrelevant or inadmissible material… In doing so, the Court relied on stereotypical assumptions about how an "ideal" victim should physically resist or emotionally react, going so far as to hold her smiling demeanour during subsequent work events against her,” it added.

Justice Gokhale, who authored the verdict on behalf of the bench, said sexual harassment at work caused significant and enduring harm to women’s career paths, punishing them for factors outside their control.

“Additionally, a widespread culture of victim blaming and institutional resistance isolates survivors, prompting them to switch jobs or accept demotions. An insensitive and unresponsive work environment often instils fear in women about venturing out of their homes to pursue meaningful opportunities, thereby preventing them from fully utilising their talents and skills,” she added.

The former editor of Tehelka magazine was accused of raping a junior colleague in an elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa during the THiNK festival in November 2013. The complainant alleged that Tejpal raped her on November 7 and attempted to assault her again on November 8.

Following the allegations, Tejpal resigned from his position and issued an email to staff apologising for the incident. While he did not specifically refer to the allegations, he referred to the incident as a “shameful lapse of judgement.”

The case hit the headlines amid a focus on crimes against women, a year after the rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi provoked national outrage, and prompted the government to pass tougher laws to check such crimes. The Tejpal case shone the spotlight on harassment of women at workplaces, and its underreporting over fears of job losses and persecution.

On May 21, 2021, a fast-track court presided over by sessions judge Kshama Joshi acquitted Tejpal of rape and sexual assault charges, giving him the benefit of the doubt on account of a lack of sufficient evidence.

“We are going to appeal against the verdict. We are very disappointed. We believe the evidence in the case has not been appreciated. We believe there is enough evidence to very clearly exonerate me not once, not twice but ten times over. I told the judge that I'm a political victim. That I'm a journalist for Tehelka. The government has been after me for the past 13 years. I'm not alone in this. There are many people who are taking on the government and who the government is after. This is the type of government that we have right now. It is 100% motivated,” Tejpal told the media.

“We should get a fair trial and hearing as does everybody else who has been accused by this government. We will appeal this in the Supreme Court,” he added.

Goa advocate general Devidas Pangam said that the verdict was a case of “justice being done.”

“The facts are so gross. He was a father figure. He was a friend of the father of the victim. He was the employer of the victim. Despite that, he has done this. And he was so brazen that during the trial, the victim was completely humiliated; questions were asked of her character. There was actually an attempt at character assassination in the entire trial as far as the victim is concerned. That makes it worse. It happens once on one day; it was repeated a second time, so therefore the offence has become very serious,” Pangam said.

He said the trial court had delivered a bad order that ended up “completely maligning the victim's character”.

“And the law is that even a prostitute has the right to say no. In that the observations of the trial court to say that the victim was sort of in consent as regards these acts are perverse and against society, and I feel that justice has been done today in this matter,” he added.

Superintendent of Police Sunita Sawant said the verdict was “very important” for “women who are working in all sectors.”

“This is a sentence where the girl has stood up for her rights, for what wrong happened with her. In that light, this judgement is very very important [for] women who are working in all the sectors -- private, government, all the sectors,” said Sawant who investigated the case.

The trial in the case began in September 2017 before it was stalled, with Tejpal moving the high court and then the Supreme Court, against the framing of charges, and for discharge. The Supreme Court ordered that the trial be completed by December 2020. It extended the deadline citing the Covid-19 pandemic. The trial resumed in 2019 and was held on a day-to-day basis from 2020.

The prosecution appealed against the acquittal, arguing that the survivor was put on trial instead of the accused.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who also appeared for the state, argued that the complainant's testimony was used against her.

The police argued that the trial court completely discarded the survivor’s testimony despite a clear and cogent account of the incidents of sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, use of criminal force, and wrongful restraint and confinement.

The state argued the trial court disbelieved the version of the prosecutrix based on a conception of how a victim is expected to behave while being sexually assaulted.

Tejpal’s lawyers cited what they referred to as inconsistencies in the survivor's statement and her behaviour following the assault. It cited CCTV footage, photographs, WhatsApp messages, emails, and witness testimony and argued that the complainant continued to participate in ThinkFest events, attended social gatherings and appeared at ease.

The defence said the complainant called Tejpal and asked him to join her for a photograph with Hollywood actor Robert De Niro. It argued that this was inconsistent with the prosecution's claim that she was fearful of the accused and trying to avoid him.