Despite trying many tricks, Tarun Tejpal will have to stand trial on the sexual assault case

Tarun Tejpal, the rape-charge-accused Editor of the controversial magazine Tehelka is trying every trick in the book to delay the case and the Goa Police on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that he must face trial. Goa Police was responding to Tejpal’s petition to quash the trial in the rape of a young journalist colleague on November 2013. On hearing the claims that he is innocent, Justice Arun Mishra asked Tejpal’s advocates that “if innocent, why you apologized” to the young lady journalist.

The police, while opposing Tejpal’s plea seeking quashing of charges framed against him, told a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra that there was “ample material” warranting a trial in the case. Tejpal’s counsel refuted the allegations and told the bench, also comprising Justices M R Shah and B R Gavai, that certain WhatsApp messages were concealed and referred to CCTV footage of the hotel where the alleged incident took place.

The bench, after hearing the submissions on Tuesday, reserved its order on Tejpal’s plea seeking quashing of charges framed against him. Tejpal is accused of sexually assaulted the former colleague inside the elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013.

He has denied all the allegations leveled against him. He was arrested on November 30, 2013, by the Crime Branch after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the court. He has been out on bail since May 2014. He has moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court’s December 20, 2017 order dismissing his plea seeking quashing of charges.

During the hearing, senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Tejpal, referred to earlier judgments of the apex court to buttress his arguments that charges should be quashed. Singh, while referring to CCTV footage of the hotel, said that anybody can make allegations that such an incident has happened in the lift.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the police, referred to an earlier apex court verdict and said that even strong suspicion in a criminal case is enough to frame charges. Earlier, Tejpal had claimed that there were certain inconsistencies in the video recordings and the statements of the victim recorded under section 164 of CrPC before the magistrate.

The trial court in Mapusa town of Goa had framed charges against Tejpal under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including alleged sexual harassment and provisions related to rape.

In 2015, the Supreme Court had directed the trial court to finish the trial within a year. But using all tricks Tejpal is delaying the process by filing curious petitions seeking technical data like a copy of the CCTV visuals, messages exchanged with victim lady journalist and her friends who are crucial witnesses in the case. PGurus earlier reported about the dirty tricks deployed by Tejpal’s team of advocates and some uncouth journalists to delay the case[1].

Some scribes, both men and women, planted fake stories and articles in the media to try and save their friend Tejpal.

Victim’s friends are silent

Why are the young journalists, the friends who are witnesses, in this case, keeping quiet? Have senior journalists threatened them or lured them? These young journalists are writing on so many topics, but they keep silence in this case, where they are supposed to act or speak.

What is known is that many witnesses and the alleged victim journalist are engaged in lucrative research assignments. It is a fact that in January 2014, a famous Left-Liberal funding NGO based in Bangalore headed by a historian and an IT czar had granted Rs.12 lakh rupees ($18,000) as a scholarship to the victim to write a book on violence against women. Coincidence? Many journalists say that certain crucial witnesses who are also journalists are offered good jobs by Tejpal’s Boys’ Club.

References:

[1] Three years on the Tejpal rape case is now paused. Why? Who is slowing it? Nov 28, 2016, PGurus.com