Tarun Tejpal case: Don’t read out evidence, says HC

Opposing Tejpal’s plea seeking in-camera proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, arguing for the Goa government, said the trial court’s order to acquit him was “retrograde and regressive” and “fit for the fifth century”. “The victim was virtually on trial” and she was “named and shamed,” he said.

A division bench of Justice Dere and Justice M S Jawalkar said it would not consider the application for in-camera hearing at this stage.

Tejpal’s counsel, Amit Desai, told the court that he first wanted to argue on the maintainability of the Goa government’s application seeking to appeal against the trial court’s May 21 decision to acquit Tejpal. Desai said that on the day the appeal was filed, the additional public prosecutor did not have permission to file it.

“Is that the only hurdle?” Justice Dere asked.

“But that is a very serious hurdle,” Desai said. He said that an inquiry under the RTI Act had shown that on May 24, when the appeal was filed, the state government had not given permission to the additional public prosecutor to file the appeal under Section 378 of the CrPC.

In an additional affidavit on Wednesday, Tejpal said he had reason to believe that while the application to appeal was filed on May 24, the approval reached the office of Additional Public Prosecutor Pravin Faldessai on May 31.

Inquiries made under the RTI Act showed the note seeking the state government’s permission to file the appeal was initiated on the same day that it was filed, Tejpal’s affidavit said. The Under Secretary (Home-1) sent it to the Director General of Police (DGP) on May 27.

The court is expected to hear the case next on November 16.