Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam are in jail for years, I am one of them: Tarun Tejpal
Tehelka founder and former editor Tarun Tejpal on Thursday described himself as a "political victim" after the Bombay High Court convicted him in the 2013
Tehelka founder and former editor Tarun Tejpal on Thursday described himself as a "political victim" after the Bombay High Court convicted him in the 2013 rape case involving a former junior colleague and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Drawing parallels with people like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Surendra Gadling who have been in jail for a few years without conviction now, Tejpal said that he was also one of them. Read Full Story Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Tejpal alleged that he had been targeted for more than a decade because of the kind of journalism Tehelka practised and because "vested interests" and political interests were offended by its reporting. On Thursday, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court overturned a 2021 sessions court judgment that had acquitted Tejpal of all charges. The High Court convicted him under provisions dealing with rape by a person in a position of trust or authority, sexual harassment, and assault with intent to disrobe.
Soon after his conviction, Tejpal said he would challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court. "We will be appealing against this order. We feel the order is wrong. We will be moving the Supreme Court against the order," he said. He maintained that the prosecution was driven by political vendetta rather than evidence. "We have no doubt that for the past 13 years they are after me because of my work with Tehelka," he said, adding that the trial court had acquitted him after years of proceedings and that he was now being pursued again. Talking about former JNU student leaders, who have spent years in jail while facing criminal charges, Tejpal said, "Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Surendra Gadling have been in jail for years now. I think I am one of them". Khalid, a former JNU student leader, is jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case and has not been convicted.
Sharjeel Imam is also an accused in the same conspiracy case and remains in custody. Lawyer-activist Surendra Gadling has been jailed in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case under anti-terror provisions and is awaiting trial. Tejpal alleged that those who had spoken or written against people in power were being selectively targeted. "The people who are with them, they are acquitted but the people who have done journalism against them or they have said something against them, they are after such people," he said. He further claimed that the case had destroyed his professional life. "They have stopped my journalism, they have stopped Tehelka, they have stopped my books from being printed," he told reporters, while expressing faith that the judiciary would eventually vindicate him. "There is so much material—if you were to look at the evidence presented in court, it is substantial enough to warrant acquittal ten times over, not just once.
The BriefWire