Goa files appeal against Tejpal order

The Goa government has called a verdict acquitting journalist Tarun Tejpal of rape and sexual assault by additional sessions judge Kshama Joshi as “perverse” and “influenced by extraneous inadmissible materials and testimonies”, and filed an appeal filed before the Bombay high court at Goa. The former editor of Tehelka magazine was accused of raping a colleague in an elevator of a hotel in Goa during the THiNK festival in November 2013. The complainant alleged that Tejpal raped her in the lift on November 7 and attempted to assault her again on November 8. Tejpal, who refuted the charges in court, was acquitted by the fast-track court on May 21. The Goa government filed an appeal against the verdict in the Bombay high court last Tuesday. The appeal is scheduled for hearing on Wednesday.