3 weeks ago
Tejpal's daughter says conviction aimed to silence journalism
A famous news editor in India named Tarun Tejpal was accused of hurting a woman who worked with him in 2013.
A lower court first said he was not guilty, but a bigger court called the Bombay High Court later found him guilty.
His adult daughter, Cara, is speaking up to support her father.
She says she has studied the evidence for 13 years and believes he is innocent.
She thinks the accusation was made up because her father's magazine wrote reports that upset powerful people.
The court believed the woman's story and said the first judge made a mistake by expecting victims to act a certain way.
Because of the conviction, Tejpal was reported to have been sentenced to 10 years in jail and must turn himself in.
He says he will ask an even higher court, the Supreme Court of India, for help.
Cara says she does not care if people call her mean names for supporting her father.
The Bombay High Court convicted former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, 62, of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in Goa in 2013, overturning his May 2021 acquittal by the Sessions Court at Mapusa.
His daughter Cara Tejpal defended him in a statement on Saturday, saying she had examined the evidence for 13 years and was convinced of his innocence.
Cara claimed the case was a false rape allegation filed 'suo moto' by the state of Goa, used to 'silence' her father because of Tehelka's investigative reports on corruption and alleged wrongdoing by those in power.
The high court called the trial court's verdict 'perverse' for expecting a 'perfect victim' and extended Tejpal's surrender deadline from two weeks to four weeks.
Related coverage reports Tejpal was sentenced to 10 years in jail; he claims he is a political victim and plans to challenge the conviction in the Supreme Court.
Tejpal was also charged with sexual harassment and wrongful restraint, and the survivor was cross-examined for almost a month in one of the longest such proceedings in Goa's history.
- Who
- Tarun Tejpal, 62-year-old former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, convicted by the Bombay High Court; his daughter Cara Tejpal defended him in a Saturday statement.
- What
- The Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal of raping a junior colleague in 2013, overturning his May 2021 acquittal; related coverage reports a 10-year jail sentence.
- Where
- Inside a hotel elevator during a Tehelka event in Goa, India; the verdict came from the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court.
- When
- The conviction was delivered on Thursday; Cara Tejpal issued her statement on Saturday, August 8, 2026; the alleged assault occurred in November 2013.
- Why
- The Goa government appealed the acquittal, and the high court termed the trial verdict 'perverse' for expecting a 'perfect victim'; Cara claims the case was meant to 'silence' her father for his investigative journalism.
Defence perspective
Court and prosecution perspective
Political motivation behind the case
Defence perspective
Cara Tejpal claims the conviction was engineered to 'silence' her father because Tehelka's investigative reports exposed corruption and alleged wrongdoing by those in power, saying he was 'more than a thorn in the side of the BJP government.'
Court and prosecution perspective
The Goa government appealed the acquittal, and the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal, calling the trial court's verdict 'perverse' and finding the acquittal legally unsound.
Credibility of the allegation
Defence perspective
Cara says she examined the evidence for 13 years and is convinced her father is innocent, calling the allegation a false case filed 'suo moto' by the state of Goa.
Court and prosecution perspective
The high court upheld the complainant's allegation, saying the trial court wrongly expected a 'perfect victim'; the survivor underwent an almost month-long cross-examination, and activists said she deserved justice.
Key facts
- Convicted person
- Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka (age 62)
- Offence
- Rape of a junior colleague in November 2013 inside a hotel elevator in Goa; also charged with sexual harassment and wrongful restraint
- Court
- Bombay High Court (Goa bench), on appeal filed by the Goa government
- Earlier verdict
- Acquitted by the Sessions Court at Mapusa in May 2021
- Reported sentence
- 10 years in jail
- Court's reasoning
- Trial court verdict was 'perverse' and wrongly expected a 'perfect victim'
- Surrender deadline
- Extended from two weeks to four weeks at lawyers' request
- Next step
- Tejpal says he will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the conviction
Quotes
Statement by Cara Tejpal
Face‑of‑the‑family statement
“"Tarun Tejpal was more than a thorn in the side of the BJP government, and what better way to silence him than to portray him as the most reviled of all sinners - a rapist. Such a genius stroke; anyone who dare question the assertion invites the wrath of the righteous public."”
theprint.in
theprint.in
NDTV
telegraphindia.com
livemint.com
““I was 23 years old when my father was arrested. I was 31 when he was acquitted, and today, at 36, I stand by him as he is convicted by the Bombay High Court on the basis of a false allegation of rape filed suo moto by the state of Goa,””
theprint.in
m.rediff.com
telegraphindia.com
Sources
Bid to ‘silence’ him for investigative journalism: Tejpal’s daughter on his conviction in rape case
They wanted to ‘silence’ my father for his investigative journalism: Tejpal’s daughter
Conviction Meant To Silence Him: Tarun Tejpal's Daughter Says He Is Innocent
Don't care if called 'rape apologist': Tejpal's daughter
Bid to ‘silence’ him, don't care if called ‘child of rapist’: Tarun Tejpal’s daughter on his conviction
‘Portray him as…a rapist’: Tarun Tejpal’s daughter alleges political targeting
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