Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court’s recent judgment convicting him in the 2013 rape case and sentencing him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Tejpal’s appeal comes shortly after the Goa government also moved the Supreme Court, seeking enhancement of his sentence to life imprisonment. The State, however, has not challenged the High Court’s finding of guilt.

The Bombay High Court’s Goa Bench of Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar had, on August 6, overturned Tejpal’s acquittal by the trial court and convicted him for the offences arising from the 2013 incident.

While seeking life imprisonment, the Goa government had argued for a harsher sentence. The High Court, however, declined to impose the maximum punishment.

The court took note of the fact that the incident had occurred nearly 13 years ago and that there was no material showing any subsequent criminal misconduct by Tejpal. It therefore awarded him 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, the minimum sentence prescribed for the rape offence for which he was convicted.

The case dates back to November 2013, when a junior colleague accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside an elevator at a luxury hotel in Goa during an event organised by Tehelka.

Tejpal was tried by the Goa Sessions Court, which acquitted him in 2021. The Goa government subsequently challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court.

The High Court, after hearing the appeal, reversed the acquittal and found Tejpal guilty under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code dealing with rape, sexual harassment and assault with intent to disrobe.

The rape provision under which he was convicted prescribed a minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, which could extend to life imprisonment.

Tejpal’s challenge before the Supreme Court will now put the High Court’s conviction and sentence under judicial scrutiny, while the Goa government’s separate plea seeks an enhancement of the punishment.