Tarun Tejpal Moves Supreme Court Against Bombay HC Conviction in 2013 Rape Case

August 20, 2026

New Delhi: Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court’s verdict convicting him in the 2013 rape case and sentencing him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The plea comes after the Bombay High Court on August 6 overturned Tejpal’s acquittal by a trial court in 2021 and convicted him in the case.

Tejpal challenges conviction and sentence

The High Court had found Tejpal guilty in connection with the sexual assault of a junior colleague at a hotel in Goa during an event organised by Tehelka in 2013.

The High Court sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and directed him to surrender.

Tejpal has maintained that he was a “political victim” and has now challenged the High Court’s judgment before the Supreme Court.

Goa government seeks harsher sentence

The development comes days after the Goa government also approached the Supreme Court, seeking enhancement of Tejpal’s 10-year sentence to life imprisonment.

The state’s plea is limited to the quantum of punishment and the High Court’s decision to run the sentences for the two aggravated rape convictions concurrently.

The government has argued that the two incidents occurred on successive days and constituted separate criminal acts, warranting a harsher sentence.

High Court overturned 2021 acquittal

Tejpal had been acquitted by the trial court in 2021. The Bombay High Court later overturned that verdict, holding that the lower court had failed to properly assess key evidence in the case.

The High Court had described the trial court’s acquittal order as “perverse” and criticised the manner in which the complainant was treated during the proceedings.

It also observed that the defence had subjected the woman to nearly 1,000 pages of cross-examination and had attempted to portray her character negatively.

The High Court said the trial court had wrongly expected the complainant to behave like a “perfect victim”.

Supreme Court to hear matter

The High Court had initially directed Tejpal to surrender within two weeks. His lawyers subsequently sought more time, following which the surrender deadline was extended to four weeks.

The matter will now come before the Supreme Court, where Tejpal is challenging his conviction while the Goa government is seeking an enhanced sentence.