MUMBAI, Aug 6 – 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.
• 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 itself by exposing corruption and abuse of power in high places.
(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Toby Chopra)
