New Delhi:
The 10-year jail term handed by the Bombay High Court to Tarun Tejpal for raping a colleague is “disproportionate” to the gravity of the crime, the Goa government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, demanding harsher punishment for the former journalist.
The government has demanded either life imprisonment or “whatever punishment the court deems fit” for his crime.
Earlier this month, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court overturned a trial court’s 2021 acquittal order, convicting the former Tehelka editor for raping his colleague inside an elevator in 2013 and sending him to jail for 10 years.
The government says the punishment is inadequate. It has demanded that he shouldn’t be allowed to exhaust all his punishments concurrently.
“The sentence passed by the High Court is inadequate and disproportionate concerning the gravity of the offence and the aggravating circumstances on record,” the state government said in its petition.
The government said the seriousness of the crime merits life imprisonment, not just a 10-year jail term.
Also read: Tarun Tejpal, Ex-Tehelka Editor, Gets 10 Years Jail For Raping Colleague
The Crime And Trial
The crime took place in November 2013 in Goa inside a hotel elevator during Tehelka magazine’s ThinkFest event.
Tejpal was acquitted in 2021, four years after the trial began. The state government then approached the high court.
During the hearing, the prosecution punched holes in the sessions court’s acquittal, saying it committed a serious error by noting that the survivor did not demonstrate “normative behaviour” that a survivor of sexual assault “might plausibly show”.
Also read: Conviction Meant To Silence Him: Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Says He Is Innocent
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, argued that there was no universal standard governing the reaction of a survivor.
In its order, the high court rejected the trial court’s conclusion, calling its assumptions “stereotypical”.
“The (trial) Court relied on stereotypical assumptions about how an ideal victim should physically resist or emotionally react, going so far as to hold her smiling demeanour during subsequent work events against her,” it said in its order.
Tejpal addressed the court after his conviction, claiming he was a victim.
“I am 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife, and there’s not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient with me. The rest of the facts are placed on record,” Tejpal said in the court.
The court gave him two weeks to surrender.
