High Court rejects Tejpal's plea for interim protection from arrest

New Delhi: Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal's plea for four-week interim protection against his arrest in the woman journalist sexual assault case was on Wednesday rejected by the Delhi High Court which reserved its order on his anticipatory bail petition.

Justice Sunita Gupta will pronounce the order on November 29 on the anticipatory bail plea of Tejpal which was strongly opposed by the Goa police.

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While Tejpal said the victim's version has to be taken with a "pinch of salt", Goa police said, "There is no question of consent. This incident happened to the hapless victim."

"This offence shows the depravity of highest order by a man who is having control over the victim," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Goa Police, said.

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Tejpal said the story of complainant needed to be taken with a "pinch of salt" and there are embellishments in the FIR.

"I am a man enough to own up my mistakes," senior advocate K T S Tulsi, appearing for Tejpal, said. Besides anticipatory bail, Tejpal had also sought interim protection against arrest for a period of four weeks.

During the hearing, Tulsi orally submitted that the plea for anticipatory bail be treated as a protection from arrest for four weeks. He said he was seeking temporary protection from arrest till he reaches the competent court.

He argued that the police in order to harass and humiliate Tejpal has neither filed a status report nor told him the status of CCTV footage.

"Let them give CCTV footage to the court. Truth must not be obfuscated to serve political purposes and that is not the role of the police," the counsel said.

"Registration of FIR under section 376 of IPC is a complete abuse of their power by police at the behest of political masters," he said.

The Goa police has registered the FIR against Tejpal for allegedly sexually assaulting his junior on November 7 and 8 at a five-star hotel in Panaji. The alleged incident happened in the hotel lift. The victim on Tuesday recorded her statement before the Goa police in Mumbai.

In the morning, the court deferred the hearing for 3.30 PM as the counsel for Tejpal was busy arguing a part-heard matter in the apex court and had sought a pass-over.

Goa police counsel, however, said he was ready to argue the case and had kept the morning hours only for it.

Earlier, the court had issued notice to the Goa police for today and rejected the plea of Tejpal for grant of interim protection against arrest.

The Tehelka Editor, in his bail plea, had denied the allegation and accused Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar of taking undue interest in the case.

Tejpal has claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case at the behest of BJP. He has alleged that BJP has "unleashed the wrath of its vengeance upon him in the garb of the present FIR".

His bail plea was opposed by both the Goa and Delhi police. The judge had yesterday sought reply of the Goa police on the scribe's plea whose application for transit bail was opposed by the Delhi police.

Senior advocate Tulsi had yesterday said in the court, "This has become a political battle. I am entitled to interim protection as has been the practice in this court. "At best, the case is of section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and it is the figment of imagination that it has become a case of section 376 (rape) of the IPC."