The Supreme Court on Friday refused to suspend the 10-year prison sentence imposed on journalist and former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 rape case.

A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale passed the order while hearing Tejpal's application seeking suspension of his sentence.

After hearing submissions from lawyers representing Tejpal and the Goa government, the Bench said it was not inclined to grant relief and declined to suspend the sentence.

On August 6, the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal of rape and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, overturning the trial court's acquittal of the former editor five years earlier.

The case relates to the alleged rape of a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in Goa in 2013, during an event organised by Tehelka magazine.

Tejpal, 62, has maintained that he was a victim of political vendetta.

On August 20, he approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's judgment convicting him in the case.