Tarun Tejpal Acquittal Judgment Coloured By Prejudice & Patriarchy; Focuses On Victim Blaming : Goa Govt In Appeal

The Goa Government has cited the trial court's lack of understanding of a rape victim's post-trauma behavior, using her past sexual history and education as legal bias against her but not using the same standards against the accused, and making observations driven by "patriarchy" as some of the grounds to challenge the judgment acquitting journalist Tarun Tejpal. In its amended grounds of appeal u/s 378 of the CrPC before the Bombay High Court, the State contends that a case for retrial is made out due to several factors, especially because the judge allowed "scandalous," "irrelevant," "humiliating" questions to be asked to the victim in her cross-examination that ran into nearly 700 pages of evidence. The appeal also seeks expunging of all such portions of the victim's evidence that are not in conformity with Sections 53A and 146 of the Indian Evidence Act. These sections make it inadmissible and impermissible to ask questions about a victim's past sexual history when issues regarding consent are involved. "The Trial Court in its 527-page-judgment has been influenced by extraneous inadmissible materials and testimonies, graphic details of the past sexual history of the victim, prohibited by law and has used the same for purposes of censuring her character and discrediting her evidence. The entire judgment focusses on indicting the complainant witness rather than trying to ascertain the culpable role of the Respondent Accused." On May 27, a vacation bench of Justice SC Gupte directed the trial court to redact all references revealing the victim's identity while uploading the order on its website and permitted the Goa Government to amend its' Leave to Appeal.' The Acquittal Tejpal, co-founder and promoter of Tehelka Magazine and its editor-in-chief was acquitted of all charges on May 21 by a fast track court in Mapusa, Goa. He was accused of forcing himself on his junior colleague against her wishes, inside an elevator of the Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa on November 7 and 8, 2013, during the magazine's official event - the THiNK 13 festival. In her 527-page judgement, Special Judge Kshama Joshi extensively commented on the woman's non-rape victim like behaviour and faulty investigation to grant Tejpal the benefit of the doubt. On Tejpal's Apology The State has contended that while the victim's qualification and her work in the field of gender was "bafflingly" used to discredit her testimony, the trial court did not adopt the same standards while accepting Tarun Tejpal's "belated" defence that the personal and formal e-mails he sent apologizing to the victim were either not sent by him or sent at the behest of his sister and then Tehelka Maniging Editor. "The Trial Court also failed to appreciate the fact that the Respondent Accused himself was the Editor-in-Chief and owner of the Tehelka magazine, highly educated and a man in a position of power and authority. It is baffling that while qualifications of the prosecutrix and her work in matters relating to gender have been used against her to discredit her testimony, the Trial Court has adopted no such standard while appreciating the farcical, belated, and wholly dishonest defence of the Respondent Accused that the emails of apology sent to the prosecutrix were either not sent or were sent at the behest of…" The State claims that "it defies reason and common sense as to why an apology was given if there was a contestation of the incidents in question." "The Trial Court has completely ignored the most telling piece of evidence in the case which established the guilt of the Respondent Accused beyond a shadow of doubt," the State says while noting that Tejpal, used the word "Atonement" while stepping down from editorship for six months. Looking traumatised necessary Adverse inferences against the victim for smiling in pictures and "not looking" traumatised after the two incidents of alleged assault "betray a complete lack of understanding of post-trauma behaviour of victims, they also demonstrate complete ignorance of the law as also of the directions and guidelines passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in such matters." "If the law laid down by the trial court is correct, looking "traumatised" after such incident is sine qua non and an educated girl who chooses not to create a scene is not a reliable witness," the appeal states. The appeal further states that the victim's behaviour was natural as there was an international literary festival underway involving hundreds of delegates, celebrities and journalists at the time of the two incidents when the alleged incident happened and she feared losing her job. The State cited the case of Aparna Bhat & Ors v. State of Madhya Pradesh wherein it was held that courts should refrain from commenting on the conduct of prosecutrix in rape trials based on habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, past...

Tarun Tejpal Acquittal Judgment Coloured By Prejudice & Patriarchy; Focuses On Victim Blaming : Goa Govt In Appeal

Sharmeen Hakim

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