Goa govt calls Tejpal case verdict 'shocking' and 'biased'

The May 21 judgement by a Goa trial court acquitting former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal is biased against the victim, the Goa government has said in its amended appeal to the Bombay High Court, claiming that the victim's "independent" background, her craft as a gender-issues writer and her knowledge about rape law, has led to the Court question her credibility.

In a submission made on Tuesday to the High Court, which adds more grounds to beef up the appeal application, the Goa government also said that no CCTV footage was destroyed by the investigating officer in the case, as alleged in the judgement which acquits Tejpal from charges of rape levelled against him by a junior colleague.

The Goa government's amended appeal states that the judgement is "shocking in its apparent legal bias against the prosecutrix when it suggests that it is unsafe to rely on her testimony as she is well educated, a good writer, proficient in English and above all, conversant with the rape law, and was 'a capable, intelligent, independent person'."

The appeal also raises doubts about the observation made in the judgement about the normal behaviour of the victim after the alleged assault in 2013 at a five star resort in Goa.

"The trial court erred in losing sight of the fact that an international festival consisting of hundreds of delegates, celebrities and journalists was ongoing at the time of the two incidents. The prosecutrix was on duty, shadowing one of the most important guests at the festival," it reads.

The appeal also states that there is no question of any part of the hotel CCTV footage (listed by the Goa Police as evidence) going missing or destroyed by the investigating officer as inferred in the judgement.

"There is absolutely no technical basis for the trial court to make this definitive conclusion. The trial court grossly erred in holding that the investigating officer had destroyed the CCTV footage of the incident of the 1st floor Block 7 of the Grand Hyatt when there is no evidence to that effect," the appeal stated, describing the presumption of the Court as "erroneous".

Speaking to media, Assistant Solicitor General Pravin Faldessai said that several other grounds were also raised by the Goa government in the amended appeal application filed on Tuesday.

"There are several grounds and those grounds will be raised before the Court. What the State is trying to say there is unnecessary weightage given to the defence raised by the accused, whereas the prosecution witnesses are doubted, when their evidence was required to be taken into consideration because it had some credentials," Faldessai said.