SC Dismisses Tarun Tejpal's Plea For Quashing Rape Charges; Directs Completion Of Trial Within 6 Months

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by Tehelka journalist Tarun Tejpal for quashing the charges of rape framed against him.

The bench of Justices Arun Mishra, M R Shah and B R Gavai refused to interfere with the judgment of the the Goa bench of Bombay High Court that had upheld the September 2017 order of Sessions judge at Mapusa, Goa, framing charges against him for rape.

According to the FIR, a journalist colleague of Tejpal was raped by him on November 7, 2013, inside an elevator in a Hotel Grand Hyatt, Goa, during Tehelka magazine's THiNK 2013 festival in Goa.

Terming the offence "morally abhorrent" and an "assault on the privacy of the victim", the bench directed the Sessions Court to complete trial within six months. 

Justice Shah, who read the judgement said " the charges are serious...and there is already delay in the trial."

The trial court had framed charges against Tejpal under sections 354 (assaulting or using criminal force on a woman with an intent to outrage her modesty), 354-A (outraging modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrong confinement), 376 (rape), 376(2) (f) (person in position of trust or authority over women, committing rape of such women) and 376(2) (k) (rape of a woman by a person being in position of control or dominance over the woman).

"The high court failed to appreciate the manner in which the charges were directed to be framed against the Petitioner by the trial court by totally disregarding the primary evidence in the form of CCTV footage, which totally demolishes the case of the Prosecution, while relying on material that is not even a document within the meaning of Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872." stated the petition filed by Tejpal.

(Story to be updated)