The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed journalist Tarun Tejpal’s plea to have the rape charges against him revoked, The Indian Express reported. The former editor of Tehelka is accused of raping a junior colleague in 2013 in a hotel elevator at an annual event organised by the magazine in Goa.
“We now have to report this [Bombay High Court’s] order to the trial court on January 9,” public prosecutor Francis Tavora told reporters on Wednesday. “The trial court will then summon the witnesses only after January 9.”
The Supreme Court on December 6 directed the High Court to speed up its hearing in the case. It had asked the trial court in Goa, which has been hearing the case, to keep the proceedings going and examine witnesses in the matter.
In September, the court in Goa had charged Tejpal with rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint. He had pleaded not guilty. Earlier in an internal email, he had claimed that the incident was a “lapse of judgment”.
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