The case of alleged sexual harassment against journalist and author Tarun Tejpal took an unexpected turn after the Goa Police filed a supplementary charge sheet—the third in the long-running legal proceedings—in the Mapusa court on January 6.
The fresh charges were filed seven years after the Goa Police filed the first charge sheet—that ran into 3,000 pages—against Tejpal, the former editor of the Tehelka magazine, in February 2014 for an alleged sexual crime.
Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a former junior colleague at a Tehelka event in Goa in 2013.
A second charge sheet was also filed later by the Goa Police against Tejpal.
A senior officer of the Goa Police, requesting anonymity, said the third charge sheet was produced in the court on January 6 after fresh evidence emerged following a detailed investigation by the investigating officer.
The Goa Police said in its third charge sheet that another round of investigation was conducted by the investigating officer of the lift and those maintaining it at Grand Hyatt.
Rajeev Gomes, lawyer for Tejpal, said the latest supplementary charge sheet has been filed six years later even as the trial was coming to a close. "More than 65 witnesses have been examined including the complainant. The only pending prosecution witness as of this morning was the investigation officer.”
Tejpal has denied the allegations levelled against him.
The original list of witnesses by the prosecution had 156 names.
Gomes said the new charge sheet has produced evidence from a Blackberry phone of what the police say was an apology Tejpal offered after the alleged incident took place in the lift of the Grand Hyatt hotel, the venue of a three-day event organised by Tehelka in November 2013.
The Supreme Court directed the Mapusa court to finish the trial by December 2020. Later on a plea of the prosecution seeking extension of time, the Supreme Court fixed March 31, 2021, as the deadline for concluding the trial.
In August 2019, the Supreme Court refused to dismiss the charges framed by a Goa trial court against Tejpal. Claiming innocence in the case, Vikas Singh, senior lawyer and former Additional Solicitor General (ASG) appearing for Tejpal, had submitted that the court should consider on point of charge against him, and sought quashing of the charges against him in the case.
Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013, by the crime branch after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the court. He has been out on bail since May 2014.
Gomes said as per a directive of the Supreme Court, fresh investigation cannot take place in a case in which a charge sheet has been filed. “You need prior permission of the court,” said Gomes.
Calls and messages to Tejpal went unanswered.
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