The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, rejecting his plea for exemption from surrendering before his appeal against his conviction and 10-year jail term in the 2013 sexual assault case.
Sibal also relied on the Bombay High Court’s August 6 judgment, which had given Tejpal four weeks to surrender while noting that the case was 13 years old and that he was now a senior citizen with strong roots in society. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Aman Lekhi, appearing for Tejpal, argued that there was no legal requirement for an accused to surrender before his criminal appeal could be listed. The bench, however, made it clear that Tejpal’s plea for exemption could not be decided without examining the nature of the offence and the sentence imposed on him.
“We have to look into the nature of the offence and the sentence,” observed the bench, noting that Sibal had also argued that the high court had reversed a trial court acquittal.
