The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, who was recently convicted of rape by the Bombay High Court, to surrender before the jail authorities within two weeks.
A Bench comprising Justice Alok Aradhe rejected Tejpal’s application seeking exemption from surrender and made it clear that his appeal against the conviction would be taken up only after he surrenders and submits a surrender certificate.
During the hearing, Justice Aradhe asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, how much time would be required for surrender. Sibal sought two weeks.
The Court accordingly recorded the request and posted the matter for September 22, subject to Tejpal filing the surrender certificate by then.
Tejpal’s case arises from allegations that he sexually assaulted a junior colleague twice in 2013 inside an elevator of a luxury hotel in Goa. The Goa Police registered an FIR against him for offences including rape. Tejpal was arrested in November 2013 and remained in custody before being released on bail in July 2014. His trial commenced in 2017 and continued for nearly four years.
In May 2021, the trial court acquitted Tejpal. However, the Bombay High Court reversed the acquittal on August 6, 2026, convicted him of rape and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment along with a fine exceeding Rs 10 lakh. Tejpal has challenged the High Court judgment before the Supreme Court.
While delivering its judgment, the High Court had granted Tejpal four weeks’ time to surrender, although it declined to stay his conviction.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Sibal submitted that Tejpal had filed an application seeking exemption from surrender.
He argued that the alleged incident occurred in 2013 and that Tejpal had remained on bail for most of the period after his initial six months in custody. Sibal contended that there was little purpose in requiring Tejpal to surrender only for his appeal to be heard shortly thereafter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, opposed the plea for exemption.
The SG submitted that the High Court had suspended the operation of its order only to enable Tejpal to approach the Supreme Court for appropriate relief. He also disputed reliance on the statutory provisions cited by Tejpal and urged the Court to consider the exemption plea on its merits.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Aradhe directed Tejpal to surrender within two weeks.
The appeal will be listed on September 22 if Tejpal files his surrender certificate by that date.
The post Supreme Court directs former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks in rape conviction case appeared first on India Legal.