THE TRIAL ISN'T OVER

The Goa government challenges the acquittal of journalist-author Tarun Tejpal in the sensational case of an alleged sexual assault. Why the landmark case is going into a fresh loop

- Sandeep Unnithan with Kiran D. Tare

India’s most sensational case of alleged rape and sexual assault at the workplace saw an equally dramatic verdict on May 21. An astounding 527-page judgment by a sessions court in Mapusa, Goa, acquitted the prime accused, flamboyant journalist and author Tarun Tejpal, of all charges.

The lanky, pony-tailed Tejpal had ushered in an era of sting journalism with exposés of defence deals and political corruption in 2001. Then, on November 18, 2013, a journalist working in Tehelka magazine accused Tejpal, her editor-in-chief, of sexually assaulting her twice at a literary event hosted by the magazine at a five-star hotel in Goa. Both assaults, she alleged in a series of e-mails to her managing editor Shoma Chaudhury, took place in a hotel elevator, on the consecutive nights of November 7 and 8, 2013.

Tejpal responded to the victim’s letter of complaint with two letters of apology, the first on November 19. In a formal e-mail to the accused on November 20, Tejpal apologised “unconditionally for the shameful lapse of judgement that led me to attempt a sexual liaison with you on two occasions on 7 November and 8 November 2013, despite your clear reluctance that you did not want such attention from me”.

The Goa police, taking suo motu cognisance of social media reports of the case, arrested Tejpal three days later on multiple charges of wrongful confinement, rape and assault. He was released on bail six months later.