Key Points:
- A sessions court in Goa, gave out the benefit of doubt to Journalist Tarun Tejpal in the Sexual Assault Case and acquitted him of the charges.
- Twitter is seeing a backlash of Twitteratis on a Press Release given by Tarun Tejpal that is dated 19th May whereas the verdict was given on 21st of May. This is developing doubts in the mind of people about the given judgement by the Goa Trial Court.
- Live Law reported the verdict as, “Her Messages shows that she had never intended to return to Bombay as per schedule and had informed no one or taken leave.”
- “As per this judgement, any victim of sexual assault has to exhibit her trauma, and unless she does that her testimony cannot be believed,” LiveLaw quoted the SG as saying.
A sessions court in Goa, gave out the benefit of doubt to Journalist Tarun Tejpal in the Sexual Assault Case and acquitted him of the charges. The bench also observed that there was absolutely no evidence that supported the complainant’s complaint.
The court’s verdict was given on May 21 about the Sexual Assault Case of November 2013 and its order copy was made available on Tuesday, May 25.
An order by the single-judge Bench headed by Justice SC Gupte was given out to remove the personal details of the victim from the judgment when Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned to the court that the judgment revealed the identity of the complainant by mentioning her email id and the names of her mother and husband.
The verdict, as reported by Live Law, read as below:
“The photos show the prosecutrix to be absolutely cheerful and with a smile on her face and not disturbed, reserved, terrified or traumatised in any manner,” special Judge Kshama Joshi observed about pictures taken on November 9, a day after the alleged second assault by Tehelka Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal.
“It is extremely revealing that the prosecutrix’s account neither demonstrates any kind of normative behaviour on her own part – that a prosecutrix of sexual assault on consecutive two nights might plausibly show nor does it show any such behaviour on the part of the accused,” the bench held.
“As per this judgement, any victim of sexual assault has to exhibit her trauma, and unless she does that her testimony cannot be believed,” LiveLaw quoted the SG as saying.
The WhatsApp messages were then taken into account of the prosecutrix stating her claims about staying back at Goa after the THiNK festival because she was traumatized by Tejpal’s behaviour, was a lie, and she always had plans to stay back, the court held.
Live Law reported:
“Message clearly shows her intention in advance of staying back in Goa post the THiNK festival, and shows up entirely as a lie [in] her narrative of being traumatized and disgusted by the accused Tehelka and her abandoning her duties and choosing to stay on in Goa as a result. Instead, it shows that she had never intended to return to Bombay as per schedule and had informed no one or taken leave.”
“This girl, who is a victim of sexual abuse by person who is her father’s friend, approached an eminent counsel Indira Jaising, whose ability, competence and integrity cannot be questioned by anyone. She rightly took advice because you need to go to a lawyer whom you can trust. Unfortunately, for the first time in our Indian jurisprudence, the court records that there is every possibility of doctoring of events? How can counsel this eminence be a party to doctoring? I take offence,” the LiveLaw report quoted him as saying.
The Court eventually ordered that the case be posted for further hearing on June 2.
News Agency ANI reported Goa’s CM Pramod Sawant on the Tarun Tejpal Verdict as: “We have filed an appeal in Bombay High Court against the verdict (acquittal of Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, in alleged sexual assault case). The state government will fight this case until the woman gets Justice.”
Twitter is seeing a backlash of Twitteratis on a Press Release given by Tarun Tejpal that is dated 19th May whereas the verdict was given on 21st of May. This is developing doubts in the mind of people about the given judgement by the Goa Trial Court.
