Goa govt seeks retrial in Tarun Tejpal case

Mumbai: The Goa government in its appeal before the Bombay High Court against journalist Tarun Tejpal's acquittal in a rape case said it was a fit case for retrial, citing the trial court's lack of understanding of a victim's post-trauma behaviour and censuring of her character. The appeal, filed before the HC's Goa bench, was amended this week to bring on record the judgement and to include further grounds against the acquittal of Tejpal.

The government said the trial court "considered the evidence given by defence witnesses as gospel truth, but at the same time discredited without any finding the evidence given by the victim and the prosecution witnesses". It also claimed that the trial court completely ignored the most telling piece of evidence in the case (the apology e-mail) "which established the guilt of the accused beyond a shadow of doubt".

On May 21, sessions judge Kshama Joshi acquitted Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of the Tehelka magazine, in the case where he was accused of sexually assaulting his then woman colleague in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa in November 2013 when they were attending an event.

The trial court in its judgement questioned the woman's conduct, noting she did not exhibit any kind of "normative behaviour" such as trauma and shock which a victim of sexual assault might plausibly show.

The Goa government later filed an appeal against the acquittal.

In its amended appeal, which will be heard on June 2, the state government said the trial court had "lost sight" of the fact that it was Tejpal who was an accused and was on trial, and not the victim.