Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's August 6, 2026 judgment convicting him in the 2013 sexual assault case and sentencing him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, according to reports.
Tejpal filed the appeal through advocate Aditya Samaddar, challenging the High Court's decision to overturn his acquittal by a Goa sessions court in 2021. The case relates to allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted a former junior colleague during Tehelka's ThinkFest event in Goa in November 2013, Hindustan Times reported.
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The Bombay High Court found the trial court's reasoning flawed and overturned the acquittal. It subsequently convicted Tejpal under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 376(2)(f), 354A and 354B, according to media reports.
The High Court sentenced Tejpal to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs10.21 lakh, directing that the amount be paid to the survivor. It also granted him four weeks to surrender before Goa Police.
The case had remained under legal scrutiny since the Goa sessions court acquitted Tejpal in 2021. The Goa government subsequently challenged that acquittal before the Bombay High Court, leading to the August 6 conviction.
In its judgment, the High Court reportedly found the survivor's testimony credible and criticised aspects of the trial court's reasoning, including its approach to the behaviour expected of an alleged sexual assault survivor.
Separately, the Goa government has also moved the Supreme Court seeking enhancement of Tejpal's 10-year sentence to life imprisonment. The state has argued that the sentence is disproportionate to the gravity of the offences and has cited Tejpal's position of authority over the complainant and the circumstances of the alleged assaults.
The state's petition seeks a tougher sentence but does not challenge the High Court's finding of guilt, as per HT.
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With both Tejpal and the Goa government now before the Supreme Court, the case has entered another stage of legal proceedings, with the apex court set to consider challenges concerning both the conviction and the sentence.
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