Sexual assault case: Tarun Tejpal in court for bail hearing

PANAJI, NOV 30 - Countering the notion that he had been avoiding arrest, beleaguered Tehelka's founder-editor Tarun Tejpal is attending a sessions court in Panaji where hearing resumed on his anticipatory bail application on Saturday morning.

Before attending court, Tejpal presented himself before the crime branch office at Dona Paula in the morning, saying he was available to them and not evading arrest.

This was Tejpal's second visit to the crime branch office since Friday. On Friday, he drove straight to the crime branch after landing in Goa and presented himself to the investigating officer Sunita Sawant for nearly two hours. There was no questioning done by the crime branch.

Crucial test for Goa prosecution

It will be a crucial test for the Goa prosecution on Saturday to get an order for custodial interrogation of Tarun Tejpal .

It will be prestigious for the Goa government to get the bail application rejected as it had suo moto taken up the matter of alleged sexual assault against Tejpal on a woman journalist and lodged a FIR based on the email sent by the victim to the magazine's managing editor Shoma Chaudhury, who has since resigned.

Goa Police had recorded the victim's statement in Mumbai and then got the woman journalist to record her statement against Tejpal before a Goa magistrate.

Tejpal's arrest appeared imminent on Friday morning after non-bailable warrant was issued by a local court but his legal team managed to get interim relief for the Tehelka founder after the arguments on the anticipatory bail plea remained inconclusive on Friday.

Tejpal's lawyer Geeta Luthra stressed that the issue was politically motivated and said that CCTV footage would show the applicant's innocence. The counsel also argued that the complaint was filed more than a week after the alleged incident. After she completes her arguments, the special public prosecutor Saresh Lotlikar will put up a case for custodial interrogation of Tejpal.

The high-profile case, being the first major one after the new amendment on rape, has generated much interest from the legal point. Observers say that the state would have to come up with strong grounds to convince the court for custodial interrogation of the accused.