While passing a detailed order rejecting the petition of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal for 'in-camera' hearing, the Bombay High Court held that maintaining decorum in the courtroom is absolutely essential to the administration of justice.
The Goa government has opposed the plea by Tarun Tejpal seeking 'in-camera' hearing of the case against his acquittal in a 2013 rape case by a sessions court.
To say that the judgment acquitting the former Tehelka editor was based on the age-old trope of a ravished woman with a misplaced moral compass and peppered with graphic references to the complainant’s supposed sexual past is a gross understatement.
How Tarun Tejpal was given access to the victim s personal WhatsApp messages to build his defence
Between two courts, the fundamental right of the accused was upheld and the fundamental right of the victim overlooked.
Kartik Kakar
The Goa fast track courtâs verdict, which labelled the testimony of the victim in the Tarunjit Tejpal rape case as not being of âsterling qualityâ, drew heavily from the victimâs WhatsApp chat records. The court had allowed Tejpal to place those chats as material evidence to shoulder the bulk of his defence, which alluded to the victimâs âpropensity to indulge in sexual conversationsâ, past âflirtatiousâ encounters, and post-offence conduct.
Tarun Tejpal case | Judgment in Tejpal case a huge setback, says Network of Women in Media
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Updated:
June 05, 2021 23:46 IST
The court has put the victim on trial, persistently shaming and discrediting her, says women journalists network
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Tarun Tejpal. File. | Photo Credit:
PTI
The court has put the victim on trial, persistently shaming and discrediting her, says women journalists network
Tehelka magazine, who was charged, in 2013, of the rape, unlawful confinement and sexual harassment of a young woman journalist working at the magazine, is a grave miscarriage of justice and a massive setback for the Indian women’s rights movement and the safety of working women in particular, the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) said.