"Woman Did Not Behave Like Sexual Assault Victim": Goa Court On Tarun Tejpal Acquittal

Tarun Tejpal Goa court order: In the order made available Tuesday, the sessions court in Goa while acquitting Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 rape case, said the complainant "did not demonstrate any kind of normative behaviour on her own part that a victim of sexual assault might plausibly show."

The judgment passed by Justice Kshama Joshi on May 21, that has shocked several women's rights activists and #MeToo survivors, further reads: "Upon considering evidence on record… benefit of doubt is given to the accused because there is no corroborative evidence supporting the allegations made by the complainant girl."

Tejpal, in 2013, was accused by a reporting colleague of sexually assaulting her at a Goa resort. Goa police arrested him but he was released on bail in 2014, out of jail ever since until his acquittal earlier this month. Read a timeline of the case here.

On Tuesday, the Goa government challenged the court order acquitting Tejpal in the assault case, moving the Bombay High Court.

"Makes Blood Boil": Women Outrage Against Tarun Tejpal Goa Court Order

The Goa court that acquitted him cited a lack of evidence against Tejpal in the order, noting that the woman's WhatsApp messages exhibited she was not traumtised by the incident of alleged assault. Stating that the woman texted Tejpal her location in the hotel, the order upheld if she "was terrified of him and not in a proper state of mind then why should she (victim) report to the accused and disclose to him her location."

In an email addressed to the survivors following her allegations against him in 2013, Tejpal had admitted to "misconduct," writing, "I apologise unconditionally for the shameful lapse of judgment that led me to attempt a sexual liaison with you on two occasions on November 7 and November 8, 2013, despite your clear reluctance that you did not want such attention from me."

The court's alleged questioning of the survivor's "behaviour" not being commensurate with that of a "sexual assault victim" has sparked shocked outcries from women on social media. How exactly is a sexual assault survivor expected to behave, they are asking. Some reactions: 

This just makes my blood boil. So much - “For the trial court, the woman’s “behaviour” was a key factor that, it said, undermined her case.” — I mean, what the hell is the ‘normative behaviour’ for victims of sexual assault? #TarunTejpal https://t.co/7LrVSf3LSN pic.twitter.com/Svp92a7yoz

— Priyanka Dubey (@writetopd) May 26, 2021