Panaji: Hours after the Bombay high court convicted him of rape and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal on Thursday termed the verdict a “political conviction”, compared himself to jailed activist Umar Khalid and said he would challenge the judgment in Supreme Court.“We will get justice in Supreme Court. We believe we have more than enough evidence to exonerate me. We received a very terrible, very unfair order and we will go to Supreme Court and get it rectified,” Tejpal told reporters outside the high court.Expressing disappointment with the verdict, Tejpal alleged that the high court ignored “an enormous amount of empirical and substantive evidence” in his favour.“We will fight. I have full faith in the Indian judiciary and there are honest judges in the judiciary,” he said, adding that the judiciary remained “the spine of Indian democracy”.Referring to his 2021 acquittal by the trial court, Tejpal claimed the evidence in the case overwhelmingly supported him. “There is so much evidence in my favour that I should have been acquitted ten times. We will bring out the truth,” he said.Tejpal also described himself as a “political victim” for the past 13 years, alleging that the prosecution was retaliation for Tehelka‘s investigative journalism.“I did nothing. For me, it is a political conviction. I have been a political victim for 13 years for the work Tehelka did in journalism. This govt goes after everyone they don’t like,” he said.Drawing a comparison with jailed activist Umar Khalid, Tejpal said, “Khalid’s trial has not even begun,” and added that he was “one among” several people allegedly targeted by govt.Questioning the prosecution’s case, Tejpal challenged anyone to examine the CCTV footage from the hotel. “Look at the CCTV footage and say there is a case to convict me. It is the prosecution‘s footage, not mine,” he said, alleging that footage from the first floor, which he claimed supported his defence and had been viewed by six witnesses, including four police personnel, was later destroyed.
