Panji : Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal is facing a fresh legal challenge after the Goa government moved the Supreme Court seeking an enhancement of his 10-year prison sentence in a sexual assault case to life imprisonment.The state filed its appeal on Tuesday, even before Tejpal could challenge his conviction and sentence before the Supreme Court.
The Goa government argued that the punishment awarded by the Bombay High Court’s Goa bench was inadequate considering the gravity of the offences. The government said the woman was both Tejpal’s employee and the daughter of a friend, and alleged that he abused his position of authority when she was performing her professional duties at an event organised by him as her employer.
The state also challenged the High Court’s decision to make the two 10-year sentences run concurrently. It argued that the 13-year delay since the offence cannot be used to reduce the punishment or benefit the offender, particularly when it comes at the expense of the victim.
The Goa government maintained that the sentence failed to adequately account for the seriousness of the offences and the aggravating circumstances established during the proceedings. It pointed to the High Court’s own finding that Tejpal held a position of “dominance, control, trust and authority” over the woman.
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