Goa government's appeal 'defective': Tarun Tejpal urges Bombay High Court to dismiss appeal against acquittal in rape case

Tarun Tejpal, former Editor in Chief of Tehelka magazine, has opposed the appeal filed by the State of Goa in the Bombay High Court against his acquittal in the sexual assault case filed against him as defective and liable to be dismissed. .In his affidavit, Tejpal submitted that the appeal was “defective” as the provisions under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were not followed..Section 378 of the CrPC lays down that prior permission from the State government is required to file an appeal against an acquittal. Such prior permission is meant to act as a safeguard for a person who has been acquitted, the Tejpal contended..The safeguard under Section 378 was “to prevent the State government from filing frivolous appeals against acquittal as the presumption of innocence gets fortified by the judgment of acquittal", stated the affidavit. .Tejpal submitted that it was discovered that no such prior sanction had been obtained from the government before filing the appeal after an application for information was moved under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. .As stated Tejpal's affidavit, the leave to appeal was filed on May 24, 2021 and what had been obtained from the government was an executive order of May 27, 2021 which could not operate retrospectively..This shows there was no application of mind and that the decision to file an appeal was taken in haste, without perusing the trial court’s judgment and by an authority not competent to do so, Tejpal has contended..“An ex post facto approval by the State government does not cure the defect” the affidavit added..Another contention raised is that the appeal had been filed by a lawyer who had not been notified as a public prosecutor by the Goa government, implying that the appeal had been filed by someone other than a public prosecutor, which, Tejpal contended, was against Section 378..On these grounds, Tejpal has urged the High Court to dismiss the State's appeal..On May 21, a trial court had acquitted Tejpal of all charges levelled against him including wrongful confinement, assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, sexual harassment and rape against his female colleague. The acquittal was challenged by the State of Goa.."Crucial CCTV evidence destroyed; IO committed several omissions:" Why Goa Court acquitted Tarun Tejpal of rape charges.The State went on to file an appeal before the Bombay High Court challenging the acquittal order and seeking a retrial..One of the several grounds raised in the appeal was that the 527-page judgment was influenced by extraneous and inadmissible material and by testimonies and graphic details of the past sexual history of the victim, which is prohibited by law.The same was used for the purpose of censuring the prosecutrix's character, and discrediting her evidence, the appeal stated.