PATNA, Feb 18: Tehelka founder editor Tarun Tejpal today failed to get any relief from the Bombay High Court, which deferred hearing of his bail plea till next month, a day after he was charged with rape and sexual assault of a junior journalist colleague in November last year.
Justice Mridula Bhatkar of the Goa bench of Bombay High Court posted the matter for hearing on March 4 and asked the prosecution to table a copy of the charge sheet filed against Tejpal by the crime branch before chief judicial magistrate yesterday.
The High court has, however, allowed the 50-year-old journalist to apply for bail before a lower court since charge sheet has already been filed.
Tejpal pleaded innocence and alleged he has been framed because of “political vendetta”.
“The charge sheet against me is out of political vendetta. I have done nothing wrong,” he told reporters while emerging from court.
“The entire truth is in the CCTV footage and it will be known to the world,” he said.
Tejpal has been charged with rape, sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of the woman journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in Goa when they had gone to see off Hollywood star Robert de Niro to his room. De Niro was there to attend ThinkFest, an event organised by Tehelka.
Tejpal, currently lodged in Sada sub jail in Vasco town near here, was present in the court during the hearing and has been permitted to attend the proceedings on March 4 when his bail application would be heard again.
Dressed in a white kurta and grey trousers, Tejpal was brought in a police van to the court where he sat in the front row beside his lawyer Sandip Kapoor.
Goa police yesterday filed a 2,846-page charge sheet against Tejpal, in jail since December 1, under sections 354, 354-A (sexual harassment), 341 and 342 (wrongful restraint), 376 (rape), 376(2)(f) and 376 (2)(k) (taking advantage of official position and raping a woman in custody). Under the new anti-rape law, if convicted, Tejpal can get minimum jail term of 10 years which can be extended to life imprisonment.
The charge sheet, filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Anuja Prabhudesai, relied on emails and text messages between the victim and Tejpal, the statements of witnesses, besides CCTV footages of the hotel lobby outside the lift where the alleged incident happened.
It contains graphic details of how the victim reminded the perpetrator of his status and her friendship with his daughter to deter him from violating her.
The victim has narrated the incident in the lift on November 7, when the accused sexually assaulted her for the first time despite she pushing him away asking him to stop, citing reasons that included her friendship with Tiya (Tejpal’s daughter) and her employment with Tehelka where he was her boss.
“TT, please stop, this is not okay, you are my boss, I’m Tiya’s best friend, you know my father, I work for you,” she repeatedly pleaded in vain.
In her statement, the victim said it was like talking to a deaf person intent on doing exactly what he wanted.
“It’s all wrong. I work for you and Shoma (Choudhary),” she told Tejpal, who said, “It’s all right to be in love with more than one person,” and “Well, this is the easiest way for you to keep your job.”
The victim said she was “confused, hurt and really, really scared” and at that point she did not want to lose her job, which was a high pressure responsibility of looking after the most important guest at the event. She was asked to chaperone De Niro at the high-profile function.
The next day, according to the victim, Tejpal came to her and said,”Come up with me, we have to get something from Bob’s room”.
Frightened that getting into the lift with him again would lead to a repeat of incidents of the previous night, the victim tried to escape another violation by saying, “what does he need Tarun? I’ll go upstairs and get it.”
However, Tejpal held her by the wrist and took her into the lift. The woman journalist said she did not scream because of the presence of extremely high profile guests all over Block 7.
The charge sheet says the victim was determined to handle things as professionally and firmly as she could.
As soon as the doors of the lift closed, Tejpal again went physical while she pleaded, “Tarun, please, no, just stop, just don’t do this.” Tejpal pulled away from her, smiled, patted her cheek and said “Why? Ok. I’ll stop.”
The document said the victim yet again reminded Tejpal of her relation with his daughter, saying: “This just isn’t right. Tiya is my best friend…”.
Ever since the scandal broke out following leak of an internal email conversation in Tehelka, Tejpal has been in denial, claiming it was a “consensual act”. (PTI)
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