Charges will be formally framed in the rape and sexual harassment case involving former Tehelka boss Tarun Tejpal on September 28, an Additional District and Sessions Court ruled on Thursday.
Briefing reporters outside the court, public prosecutor Francis Tavora said all the charges proposed by the prosecution have been upheld by the court
Tejpal’s counsel Pramod Dubey however contradicted the public prosecutor claiming section 376 had been dropped by the court. “376 is not there,” said Dubey, adding that the Defence would plot their next course of action after perusing through the court’s written order.
“Charges will be framed on September 28, then the trial will start,” the Defence lawyer also said.
In 2013, when he was editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine, Tejpal was accused of rape by a female colleague, who in her complaint to the police alleged, that she was sexually assaulted by the journalist in the elevator of a five-star resort in Goa, where the magazine was hosting an international conclave.
Following the registration of FIR, Tejpal was arrested and remained in police and judicial custody for nearly a year, before being released on bail. Tejpal resigned as the magazine's head after the scandal.