Journalist Tarun Tejpal acquitted in rape case by Goa court

A sessions court in Goa on Friday acquitted former Tehelka editorinchief Tarun Tejpal of all charges in the sexual assault case against him Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague inside the elevator of a luxury hotel in Goa in 2013He has been acquitted from all charges Order not given yet It will be uploaded later Tejpals defence counsel saidIn a statement Tejpal said The past seven and a half years have been traumatic for my family as we have dealt with the catastrophic fallout of these false allegations on every aspect of our personal professional and public lives We have felt the boot of the state but through it all we have cooperated fully with the Goa Police and the legal system through hundreds of hours of court proceedingsWe have unwaveringly followed every mandate of due procedure and abided by every principle of law laid in the Constitution We have also endeavoured to uphold every norm of decency expected in a case like this Tejpal said in a written statement while thanking the court for its rigorous impartial and fair trialAccording to the special public prosecutor Francisco Tavora the verdict was a serious setback and the state government will be preparing to file an appeal against the order in the High CourtSpeaking to reporters after the verdict Tavora said claimed that the prosecution team was seriously aggrieved by the order which he said would be challenged in the Bombay High CourtAccused has been acquitted of all charges We are waiting for a copy of the judgement but the state will be preparing for an appeal against the judgement Thats all that I can say at this point Tavora told reportersInitially the accused wanted to be discharged from the case so he went to the SC and got a stay order That is how the trial was stopped for a good two years It was resumed in August 2019 Since September 2020 it has been going on on a daytoday basis Tavora saidThe additional district court was to pronounce the verdict on April 27 but judge Kshama Joshi had adjourned the verdict to May 12 On May 12 it was further adjourned to May 19The court had earlier said the adjournment was due to lack of staff due to the coronavirus pandemicAlso Read Tarun Tejpals rape trial delayed as complainant tests COVID positiveThe Goa police had registered an FIR against Tejpal in November 2013 following which he was arrestedTejpal has been out on bail since May 2014 The Goa crime branch had filed a charge sheet against TejpalHe faced trial under IPC sections 341 wrongful restraint 342 wrongful confinement 354 assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty 354A sexual harassment 354B assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe 3762f person in position of authority over women committing rape and 3762k rape by person in position of controlHe had earlier moved the Bombay High Court seeking a stay on the framing of charges against him but his petition was dismissedWith inputs from agency