Panaji: The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday adjourned till July 29 an appeal filed by the Goa government against the acquittal of journalist Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 rape case.
A division bench of Justices M S Sonak and M S Jawalkar allowed the government to amend their appeal and serve a copy of the same along with all related documents to Tejpal.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, told the bench they would require some time to prepare.
The bench then said it would hear the appeal on July 29.
It directed the government to amend their petition within one week and serve a copy of the same in one week thereafter.
On May 21, Sessions Judge Kshama Joshi acquitted Tejpal, the former editor-in-chief of the Tehelka magazine, in the case where he was accused of sexually assaulting his then colleague in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa in November 2013 when they were attending an event.
The trial court had in its judgement questioned the victim’s conduct, holding that she did not exhibit any kind of normative behaviour such as trauma and shock, which a victim of sexual assault might plausibly show.
Also read: Verdict ‘coloured by prejudice, patriarchy’: Goa govt seeks retrial in Tarun Tejpal case