A fast track court in Goa on Friday acquitted former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who was charge-sheeted for allegedly raping a junior colleague in the elevator of a five star hotel in Goa in 2013.
A shocked Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the verdict was surprising and said that his government would appeal against the verdict in the Bombay High Court, while describing Tejpal's acquittal as an injustice to the victim.
Speaking to reporters, a visibly relieved Tejpal, however, said that he was grateful to receive justice stating that "justice is not always a given thing in this country".
Earlier on Friday, additional district and sessions judge Kshama Joshi, who chairs the fast track course in Mapusa town, where the case was being heard since 2019, ruled that the editor and novelist stood acquitted from all charges framed against him, including rape.
Tejpal was charge-sheeted under sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) 354A (sexual harassment) and 354B (criminal assault), of the Indian Penal Code, after a junior colleague accused him of raping her in 2013.
Tejpal in a written statement said that the last seven-and-a-half years had been traumatic for him and were spent dealing with the "catastrophic fallout" of the "false allegations" which were levelled against him and has thanked the Court for its order.
"It is with profound respect that I thank this court for its rigorous, impartial and fair trial and for its thorough examination of the CCTV footage and other empirical material on record. I wish to make no further statement at this time and request my family's privacy be respected as we try to reclaim our broken lives. I will make a comprehensive statement at an appropriate time in the future," the former Tehelka boss said.
"It has been a very long nightmare for my family. I am relieved that it is finally over. And I am very grateful to have received justice, because justice is not always a given thing in this country," Tejpal also told reporters.
The former editor also expressed thanks to his lead trial lawyer late Rajeev Gomes, who died of Covid on May 13 this year.
According to the charge sheet filed against Tejpal, the incident allegedly occurred on November 7, during a conference organised by the Tehelka media group in 2013. Tejpal stepped down as editor of Tehelka on November 20, three days before the Goa Police filed a First Information Report against him accusing him of rape.
Tejpal was arrested on November 30, after the North Goa District and Sessions Court rejected his anticipatory bail application, after which the journalist spent nearly eight months in police and judicial custody. He was subsequently released on bail by the Supreme Court, months after a 2,846-page charge sheet by the Crime Branch of the Goa Police.
Charges against Tejpal were later framed by the trial court in Goa in 2017, paving way for the trial. Reacting to the development Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the government would be immediately filing an appeal against the trial court's order.
"The acquittal of Tarun Tejpal amounts to injustice against the (victim). The state government will not tolerate this. To give her justice, the government will file an appeal against the judgement in High Court," Sawant said.
The Chief Minister also said that the government will continue to fight the case, until justice is done. "We are with the victim. It is surprising that such a judgement was pronounced despite the amount of evidence which the investigating officer and PP (public prosecutor) had collected," Sawant said.
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