India court sentences journalist Tarun Tejpal to 10 years in jail for rape

MUMBAI: A court in India convicted former top magazine editor Tarun Tejpal of raping a colleague 12 years ago and sentenced him to ten years in prison, in a high-profile case that had fuelled debates about the safety of women in Indian workplaces.

Tejpal, 62, was convicted of rape and sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment after the two-judge Goa bench of the Bombay High Court set aside an earlier acquittal in 2021 by a trial court in the coastal state of Goa, where the crime occurred.

Tejpal said he was innocent and would appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. He said he was a political victim.

The court ordered him to surrender to authorities in four weeks’ time, Goa’s top government lawyer, Devidas Pangam, told reporters after the sentencing.

Tejpal was editor of “Tehelka” magazine when he was accused by a female colleague of sexually assaulting and raping her during a conference in Goa in November 2013.

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There was no comment from the complainant, who cannot be identified under Indian law to protect her privacy.

Tejpal co-founded Tehelka, which made a name for it self by exposing corruption and abuse of power in high places.