Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Goa Seeks Life Term for Tarun Tejpal in Rape Case
Tarun Tejpal was convicted of sexually assaulting a junior woman journalist in 2013.
The Bombay High Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for each of two aggravated rape convictions.
The two assaults happened on successive days, according to the Goa government.
The sentences currently run at the same time, so they amount to an effective 10-year term.
Goa says this punishment is too small for two separate crimes.
It has asked India’s Supreme Court to consider a life sentence.
The state also wants the sentences to be served one after another.
The Supreme Court will decide whether to change the punishment.
The Goa government has asked the Supreme Court to increase Tarun Tejpal’s 10-year prison sentence.
Tejpal was convicted over the 2013 sexual assault of a junior woman journalist.
The Bombay High Court convicted him of two aggravated rape offences involving assaults on successive days.
The state argues that the 10-year terms are inadequate and disproportionate to the offences’ gravity.
Goa wants a life sentence or for the two sentences to run consecutively rather than concurrently.
- Who
- The Goa government and Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine.
- What
- Goa has asked the Supreme Court to enhance Tejpal’s sentence to life imprisonment or another harsher punishment.
- When
- The appeal was filed Tuesday; the offences occurred in 2013, and the High Court sentenced Tejpal on August 6.
- Where
- The appeal was filed before the Supreme Court of India and concerns offences in Goa.
- Why
- The state says the sentence is inadequate because the two assaults were distinct offences committed on successive days.
- Accused
- Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine
- Offence
- Two aggravated rape convictions arising from a 2013 sexual assault case
- Victim
- A junior woman journalist and colleague
- High Court sentence
- 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for each conviction
- Current arrangement
- The sentences run concurrently
- State’s request
- Life imprisonment or another sentence deemed appropriate, with the terms not running concurrently
- Earlier ruling
- The Bombay High Court reversed a May 2021 sessions-court acquittal
