PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa will on Thursday pronounce its judgment on the Goa government’s appeal against the acquittal of former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 sexual assault case involving a junior colleague.
A Division Bench of Justice Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar has listed the matter for pronouncement on August 6 and directed Tejpal to remain personally present in court.
The appeal challenges the 2021 trial court judgment acquitting Tejpal of charges arising from allegations that he sexually assaulted a junior colleague during a Tehelka event in Goa in
November 2013.
The High Court reserved its verdict last week after hearing final arguments from both sides, who offered contrasting interpretations of the evidence, particularly apology emails sent by Tejpal to the complainant after the alleged incident.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the trial court wrongly disbelieved the complainant by relying on stereotypical assumptions about how a survivor of sexual assault should behave. He also said minor inconsistencies in witness statements were natural and did not weaken the prosecution’s case.
Senior advocate Aabad Ponda, appearing for Tejpal, argued that the apology emails had been misread and said the phrase “fleeting consensual encounter” referred only to a consensual sexual conversation, not any physical or sexual act.
