Tarun Tejpal urges HC for 'in-camera' hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposes

Tarun Tejpal. File pic

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Tuesday in a lighter vein offered to dissect the colloquial interpretations of the phrase "removing clothes" during a hearing in the Bombay High Court.

Pleading for the Government of Goa in its appeal against the acuiqttal of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in a rape case earlier this year, Mehta made the comments while responding to a plea by Tejpal's counsel Amit Desai, who had sought in-camera hearings of the proceedings related to the appeal and all allied applications.

"On the lighter side, I must say and this is not my argument, this is on the lighter side. Your lordships are aware my lord, in colloquial terms, there are two ways of removing clothes," Mehta said.

"a. Accused removes literally the clothes of the victim (in case of sexual assault) and when the accused faces those allegations in a court of law, his clothes are being removed and therefore requests come to hold it in-camera. Here, incidentally on the lighter side, even the evidence has been recorded in-camera. It is captured in-camera and we are relying upon CCTV camera," Mehtra said, reiterating that he was making the comments in a lighter vein.

Also read: Institution of judiciary has failed in Tarun Tejpal case: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta

Tejpal was charged under sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) 354A (sexual harassment) and 354B (criminal assault), of the Indian Penal Code, after a junior colleague accused him of rape at a five star resort in Goa in 2013.

On May 21, he was acquitted by the trial court in Goa citing "benefit of doubt", following which an appeal was filed by the state government.

The hearing in the trial court was held in-camera and Tejpal's counsel, Desai, on Tuesday also made a plea to the High Court seeking an extension of the practice during the appeal.

"...we felt it is the appropriate thing to do in a matter like this, particularly with regards to the sensitivity of the nature of the allegations, what will be read out to your lordships (and) what will not be read to you lordships," Desai told Bombay High Court Justices Sunil Deshmukh and Mahesh Sonak.

"I think it is only proper that the principle of law laid down in 327 (CrPC) apply here. We have filed a formal application for your lordship to consider the hearing of the matter and all aspects of this matter in camera, in consonance with the principles laid down in 327, because this is an appeal in continuation with the original proceedings," Desai had said, urging the Court to follow the precedence of the in-camera practice.

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