Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal surrenders in Goa rape case, sent to jail

Mangalore Today News Network

Panaji, Sep 15, 2026: Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who was convicted in a sexual assault case, surrendered before a Goa court on Monday after the Supreme Court declined to grant him further relief.

The Supreme Court had last month directed Tejpal to surrender within three weeks, making it clear that his appeal against the conviction would not be heard until he complied with the order.

On August 6, a division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa, comprising Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar, set aside Tejpal’s acquittal by the trial court and convicted him. The High Court sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, the minimum prescribed punishment, observing that the incident had occurred 13 years ago and that there was no record of any subsequent criminal misconduct. The court rejected the state’s plea seeking life imprisonment.

Tejpal surrendered before the Additional Sessions Court in Mapusa and was subsequently sent to the Central Jail at Colvale in North Goa to serve his sentence.

The Supreme Court has scheduled his appeal challenging the conviction and sentence for hearing on September 22, subject to the filing of his surrender certificate.

The apex court had directed that if the surrender certificate was filed on or before September 21, 2026, the criminal appeal would be listed for hearing before the regular court on September 22.