HC allows appeal against Tejpal acquittal, says trial court order needs 'deeper scrutiny'

The Bombay High Court bench in Goa on Saturday paved way for the state government to appeal against the acquittal of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who was accused of raping a junior colleague at a five-star resort in Goa in 2013.

In their order, Justices M S Sonak and R N Laddha ruled that the order of the trial court which last year acquitted Tejpal required "deeper scrutiny and re-appreciation".

“We believe that deeper scrutiny and reappreciation may be necessary of the evidence of the respondent's (Tejpal’s) SMS, WhatsApp, and Email messages sent to the victim. This evidence has to be evaluated from the context of corroboration of the victim's testimony in the matter,” the Bombay HC order said.

The order also said that inferences made by the Additional Sessions Judge Kshama Joshi about the victim's conduct may need a revisit.

"The inference from the victim's conduct of consulting some lawyers before lodging her complaint may also require a revisit. Finally, the contention about the alleged admissions in the messages or the proper scope of such statements also requires consideration… At this stage, we might have only preferred to record that a prima facie case has been made out and arguable issues arise in the matter,” the court also said.

“At this stage, if the material on record discloses the necessity of deeper scrutiny and reappreciation, review, or reconsideration of evidence, the appellate court must grant leave as sought for and decide the appeal on merits,” the order further said.

In 2013, Tejpal was accused of allegedly raping a colleague at a five-star resort in North Goa. He was subsequently chargesheeted under sections under sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) 354A (sexual harassment) and 354B (criminal assault), of the Indian Penal Code.

In 2021, he was acquitted by the Goa trial court on account of lack of evidence, while also slamming the police for conducting a shabby probe and raising questions about the "normalcy" of the victim in the case. “…nothing can explain the absolute normalcy of her behaviour and state of mind inside the privacy of her own room given her own avowed state of mind - such that the colleague sharing this small hotel room with her discovers two weeks later that the prosecutrix claims to have been sexually assaulted on those very nights!” the trial court order had stated.

During the hearing in the HC for appeal, the state government represented by the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta had raised grave doubts about the contents of the trial court order.

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