Journalist Tarun Tejpal, former editor of Tehelka magazine, on Thursday (August 20, 2026) appealed in the Supreme Court against the August 6, 2026, judgment of the Bombay High Court sentencing him to 10 years imprisonment in a 2013 rape case.

His appeal comes as the State of Goa, on Tuesday (August 18, 2026), moved the Supreme Court for enhancing the quantum of the sentence for Tejpal. The State said that the sentence was manifestly inadequate but clarified that it did not want to challenge or reopen the findings or conclusions on the merits recorded by the Bombay High Court in a judgment on August 6.

While Tejpal had pleaded for leniency in the High Court, claiming he was a “political victim” and the father of two daughters, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Goa, demanded the maximum punishment to send a strong message.

Earlier this month, on August 6, 2026, the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal in a 2013 sexual assault case and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The Goa Division Bench, consisting of Justice Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, set aside the trial court’s 2021 judgment that had acquitted Tejpal. Terming the ruling “perverse”, the Bench stated that the trial court fell for the notion that a sexual assault complainant must be a “perfect victim” and conduct herself in a certain way to be deemed credible.

Published - August 20, 2026 12:50 pm IST