SC Refuses To Quash Sexual Assault Charges Against Tarun Tejpal, Trial To Continue In Goa Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to quash the trial against Tarun Tejpal, accused of raping a junior colleague in 2013.

Tejpal had petitioned the apex court to set aside the rape charges against him by a trial court in Goa.

According to media reports, a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, MR Shah and BR Gavai said the charges against Tejpal were serious and “an assault on the privacy of the victim”.

Citing delay, the top court also directed the Goa court to complete the trial in six months.

A woman employee had accused the founder-editor of Tehelka of sexually assaulting her inside an elevator of a five-star hotel during an event in Goa in 2013. He was arrested in November 2013, but has been out on bail since May 2014.

The Goa Police had earlier claimed that “contemporaneous” WhatsApp messages and emails showed Tejpal involvement in the alleged sexual assault case.

Tejpal had dismissed it as a ‘political vendetta’ by the BJP government in Goa.