Acquitting former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal, of the charges of sexually assaulting his then colleague in 2013, a trial court in Goa said there was no evidence to support the allegations made by the complainant woman.
In her 527-page judgment made available Tuesday, Additional Sessions Judge mentioned that benefit of doubt has been given to the accused because ‘there is no corroborative evidence supporting the allegations’.
The District and Sessions judge held that the complainant “did not demonstrate any kind of normative behaviour” that a victim of sexual assault “might plausibly show”. The court also said the woman’s messages to the accused “clearly establish” that she was neither “traumatised nor terrified”.