After a district court in Goa absolved Tarun Tejpal, the founder-editor of the Tehelka Magazine in a 2013 sexual harassment case, Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said the state government will appeal against the verdict in the Bombay High Court.
Speaking on the acquittal of Tarun Tejpal, CM Sawant said his government would not any wrong done to a woman.
“The State Government will appeal against this verdict in the High Court. The govt is very serious about this,” said CM Sawant, adding that he had seen the evidence on record and documents related to the case and was personally convinced that the verdict should be appealed against.
The State Government will appeal against this verdict in the High Court. The govt is very serious about this: Goa CM Pramod Sawant on the acquittal of Tarun Tejpal pic.twitter.com/p3ikll7z1f
— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2021
Tarun Tejpal acquitted by a Goa court in 2013 sexual harassment case
Earlier today, the sessions court in Goa quashed all the charges filed against Tarun Tejpal in the rape case. The Additional Sessions Judge Kshama Joshi had earlier reserved the verdict in the seven-year-old case. Interestingly, the trial was held in-camera at Tejpal’s instance.
Francisco Tavora, the special public prosecutor, declared the verdict to be a “serious setback”, adding that the state government will be preparing to file an appeal against the order in the High Court. “Accused has been acquitted of all charges. We are waiting for a copy of the judgement, but the state will be preparing for an appeal against the judgement. That’s all that I can say at this point,” said Tavora while speaking to the media.
The far-left journalist was accused of forcing himself on a colleague against her wishes inside an elevator of the Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa, on November 7, 2013, during an official event. He had stepped down as editor six months after being accused of sexual assault.
The Goa Police had subsequently registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Tejpal for various offences, including rape. He was arrested in November 2013 and later released on bail in July 2014. Tejpal was charged under IPC Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (sexual harassment), 354A(1)(I)(II)(demand for sexual favours), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 376 (2)(f) (person in a position of authority over women, committing rape) and 376(2)(k) (rape by a person in a position of control).
The trial against Tejpal started in 2017. Meanwhile, Tejpal had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking dismissal of the case against him, claiming that the charges were fabricated. Both High Court and Supreme Court had also dismissed the plea in 2019.
Tejpal expresses his gratitude for Congress leaders
In an official statement released, Tejpal had thanked the people who helped him in the legal battle. He said, “In these 8 years a host of outstanding lawyers came to our aid, and we owe them all a deep debt, prime among them Pramod Dubey, Aamir Khan, Ankur Chawla, Amit Desai, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, Aman Lekhi, Sandeep Kapoor, Raian Karanjewala, and Shrikant Shivade.”
