The Supreme Court on Thursday asked a trial court in Goa, which is hearing a rape case against former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, to put the trial on hold until the top court heard the matter on October 30.
Tejpal is accused of raping a junior colleague in 2013 in a hotel elevator at an annual event organised by the magazine in Goa. In September 2017, the trial court had charged Tejpal with rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint. He pleaded not guilty. Earlier, in an internal email, he claimed the incident had been a “lapse of judgment”.
Tejpal had challenged the trial court’s charges in the Supreme Court and sought a discharge from the case.
The matter was scheduled before the trial court for October 15. The Supreme Court said since the case was listed before it for October 30, “we permit the petitioner to request the trial court for an adjournment beyond October 20”. “Once such a request is made, the trial court shall adjourn the matter beyond October 30,” the top court added.
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