Tarun Tejpal verdict ‘coloured by prejudice and patriarchy’, says Goa government in appeal to HC
In its amended appeal, the state government said Tejpal was not subjected to such high standard of scrutiny as the complainant.
Appealing against the acquittal of Tarun Tejpal, the founder-editor of
Tehelka magazine who was accused of sexual assault and rape by a younger colleague, the Goa government has said that the trial court’s judgement is “coloured by prejudice and patriarchy”,
Live Law reported on Monday.
On May 21, Additional Sessions Judge Kshama Joshi at the Mapusa District and Sessions Court in Goa acquitted Tejpal in the case registered in 2013. On May 25, the Goa government moved the Bombay High Court against the acquittal of the journalist. In the 527-page judgement, made available on May 25, the judge said the journalist was cleared of all charges as the complainant did not show the “kind of normative behaviour” expected from her.
By describing the complainant a young woman who chooses her sexual partners, drinks on occasion, and has male friends justice Kshama Joshi seems to imply that women with certain personality types can't be rape survivors.
The Tejpal rape case verdict and the Goa court quest for the ‘ideal’ sexual assault victim
Even minor discrepancies in the complainant’s statements have been portrayed as crucial ones. Tarun Tejpal at the Goa court on May 21. | Umesh Zarmekar/ AFP
In March, the Supreme Court set aside a Madhya Pradesh High Court order asking a man accused in a sexual assault case to get the complainant to tie a rakhi to him as a condition for bail. The Supreme Court also issued several guidelines on how courts should handle orders relating to sexual crimes.
One of the key points the Supreme Court discussed was the desire of courts to find the “ideal sexual assault victim”.
Tarun Tejpal was accused of assaulting a female staff member in an elevator. He maintained the charges against him were false, although an email surfaced in which he allegedly apologized for his behavior.