Panaji, Sept 15:
Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal surrendered before a Goa court on Monday and was sent to Colvale Central Jail to begin serving his 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence in the 2013 sexual assault case.
Tejpal surrendered before the Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa following directions from the Supreme Court. He had been convicted and sentenced by the Bombay High Court after it overturned his acquittal by the trial court.
The case relates to the alleged rape of a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in Goa during an event organised by Tehelka in November 2013. The trial court had acquitted Tejpal in 2021, but the Goa government challenged the verdict before the Bombay High Court.
The High Court reversed the acquittal and sentenced Tejpal to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. The Supreme Court subsequently directed him to surrender while his appeal against the conviction is scheduled to be heard on September 22, subject to the submission of the surrender certificate.