The Supreme Court has decided that it will first consider Tarun Tejpal’s application seeking exemption from surrender before listing his appeal against conviction in a 2013 rape case. A Single-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court made this conclusion on Monday, stating that the appeal cannot be listed for hearing without deciding the separate application. The court has listed the case for August 25 and asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, to address the Single Judge Bench on the merits of the application seeking exemption from surrender.
Tejpal’s appeal against his 10-year sentence in the rape case was filed after the Bombay High Court convicted him on August 6. The Goa Government has also appealed to the top court seeking an enhanced sentence for the former editor of Tehelka, contending that the case warranted imprisonment for life. Tejpal was convicted of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in 2013.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Goa, opposed Tejpal’s plea, citing the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, which state that until and unless the appellant surrenders, his appeal should not be listed before the apex court. However, Mehta also submitted that the apex court has the power to do away with the requirement of surrender. Tejpal’s daughter has claimed that her father’s conviction is an attempt to ‘silence’ him for his investigative journalism.
The 62-year-old journalist has claimed that he is a political victim. The case has also drawn reactions from politicians, with the BJP questioning the Congress’s silence on Tejpal’s conviction and targeting Rahul Gandhi over a separate issue. Tejpal’s plea was listed in chamber matters before a Single Judge Bench of Justice Alok Aradhe on Monday.
The Supreme Court’s decision to consider Tejpal’s application seeking exemption from surrender before listing his appeal is a crucial development in the case. The court’s ruling on the application will determine the next course of action in the case.
