Overview
- The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court overturned the Mapusa sessions court acquittal and convicted Tarun Tejpal for rape and related offences in connection with alleged incidents at a 2013 ThinkFest event.
- The court sentenced Tejpal to multiple terms including 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under enhanced rape provisions (section 376(2)(f)) and fines, and imposed additional sentences for sexual assault, harassment and confinement.
- The High Court said the trial court was ‘perverse’ for judging the complainant by how a ‘perfect’ victim should behave and held that credibility must rest on consistency of facts and corroboration rather than stereotyped expectations.
- Tejpal and his family have called the prosecution politically motivated; his daughter publicly argued the case was used to silence Tehelka’s investigative work and Tejpal has said he will move the Supreme Court while surrender deadlines were extended.
- Legal commentators say the judgment reinforces recent evidence‑law safeguards—including limits on probing a survivor’s past and the acceptability of a lone consistent testimony—but also highlights the criminal process’s limits in delivering wider support and rehabilitation for survivors.