Mapusa: Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, surrendered before the Mapusa court in Goa on Monday following a Supreme Court order.
The Bombay High Court had sentenced Tejpal to 10 years in prison for raping a junior colleague in a hotel lift in Goa in 2013.
He had challenged the High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court. The top court had then directed him to surrender within two weeks before the start of the hearing of his appeal.
The High Court’s ruling on August 6 had overturned Tejpal’s acquittal by a Goa sessions court in 2021 and convicted him of the offence.
The Supreme Court’s direction means that he must begin serving his sentence, subject to any further orders in his appeal.
The case relates to allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in November 2013 during an event organised by Tehelka magazine, as reported by The Times of India.
In May 2021, a Goa sessions court acquitted him of all charges, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The Goa government challenged that decision before the Bombay High Court, which later overturned the acquittal and imposed a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence.
Tejpal approached the Supreme Court through advocate Aditya Samaddar. The Goa government has also challenged the High Court’s sentence, seeking life imprisonment on the grounds that the punishment was inadequate considering the seriousness of the offences.