Tarun Tejpal case: Supreme Court to hear interim bail plea for Deepavali on November 5

Tehelka magazine Founder Tarun Tejpal. File

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 3, 2026) adjourned to November 5 the hearing on former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court judgment convicting him and sentencing him to 10 years’ imprisonment in the 2013 sexual assault case. The court said it would also consider his interim bail plea seeking release to join his family for Deepavali festivities.

A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale deferred the hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, sought an adjournment.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mr. Tejpal, initially opposed the adjournment. He then urged the court to grant the journalist interim bail for Deepavali.

“If he wants to take time, he can take time. But let him come out during Diwali,” Mr. Sibal submitted.

Mr. Mehta opposed the request, indicating that the Goa government would contest the interim bail plea.

Justice Sundresh then said the court could hear the parties on Mr. Tejpal’s request for interim bail. Mr. Mehta, however, sought time to respond, following which the Bench agreed to take up the plea on November 5.

In its August 6 judgment, the High Court reversed the May 2021 trial court verdict acquitting Mr. Tejpal and found him guilty on two counts of aggravated rape. It sentenced him to 10 years in prison and imposed a fine. The case arose from allegations that Mr. Tejpal sexually assaulted a junior female colleague on two occasions inside an elevator during the Tehelka THiNK festival in Goa in November 2013.

While setting aside the acquittal, the High Court found serious fault with the trial court’s assessment of the evidence, describing it as “not only unreasonable but perverse”. It said the complainant’s testimony had been viewed through preconceived notions and noted that Mr. Tejpal, as her employer and mentor, exercised “dominance, control, trust and authority” over her.

The Goa government, meanwhile, has filed a separate appeal seeking enhancement of the 10-year sentence to life imprisonment. It has also questioned the direction allowing the sentences for the two offences to run concurrently, arguing that the assaults took place on successive days and constituted distinct offences.