Tejpal judgment consumed by ‘sex gossip’: Goa govt | India News – Times of India

PANAJI: The Goa government has said the sessions court judgment acquitting Tehelka founder-editor Tarun Tejpal in the alleged rape case has been “consumed by sexual gossip” and alleged “sexual fantasies” relating to the survivor that were legally prohibited.
“The cross-examination of the survivor, extending to almost 700 pages and spread over 18 dates of hearing, was nothing short of a brutal attack on her character and alleged past sexual history, designed to shame and humiliate her,” the state said. “Not only should these questions have been disallowed while recording evidence, the trial court has gone so far as to use these very questions and material to discredit her, although they were neither relevant to the case nor could they have been put to her under law,” the state government said.
The matter is likely to come up before the high court on July 29. The court will decide the application filed by the state seeking leave to appeal against the trial court judgment.
While stating that the judgment focuses on indicting the survivor rather than trying to ascertain the role of the accused, the application says that the 527-page judgment is influenced by extraneous, inadmissible materials and testimonies, and graphic details of her past sexual history, which are prohibited by law.