Earlier this year, Tarun Tejpal, the former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief, was acquitted of all charges related to the alleged rape of his junior colleague in 2013 at a Goa Sessions Court.
The decision follows severely flawed logic that exemplifies the system’s inadequacies to protect sexual assault survivors. According to the order, the trial court seems to have examined her actions more than that of the accused as they deemed this necessary for trial.
The complainant and the accused were in a Goa hotel in November 2013 at the Tehelka-organized THINK festival. It was at this event that he was accused of raping and sexually assaulting the complainant.
He was charged under IPC Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (sexual harassment), 354A(1)(I)(II) (demand for sexual favours), 354B (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe), 376 (2)(f) (person in a position of authority over women committing rape), and 376(2)(k) (person in a position of authority over women committing rap (rape by a person in a position of control). Tejpal had supervisory power over the complaint as editor-in-chief of the magazine at the time.
7 years after the case was filed, on May 21st 2021, Tarun Tejpal was cleared of all charges
He didn’t dispute there was a sexual encounter, but in an infamous ‘apology’ email, he claimed he had no knowledge the incident was “even vaguely non-consensual.”