Tarun Tejpal moves Supreme Court against 10-year rape sentence

Journalist Tarun Tejpal has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court judgment that sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment in a 2013 rape case. The High Court delivered the sentence on August 6, setting aside his acquittal by a Goa Sessions Court five years ago.

The appeal comes days after the Goa government petitioned the top court seeking enhancement of the punishment to life imprisonment, arguing that the 10-year term was 'grossly disproportionate' to the gravity of the offences. The state has clarified it does not want to reopen the High Court's findings on merits.

Tejpal was convicted of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in 2013 during an event organised by the magazine Tehelka in Goa. During the sentencing hearing, he pleaded for leniency, calling himself a 'political victim' and the father of two daughters. The state has argued that the sentences should not have been directed to run concurrently.