Panaji: Senior advocate Aabad Ponda, appearing for Tarun Tejpal in the state’s appeal against his acquittal in the 2013 rape case, told the Bombay high court on Thursday that CCTV footage from the first floor of the starred hotel “suddenly went missing”, raising doubts about the prosecution’s case.The HC is hearing final arguments against the Tehelka founder’s May 21, 2021, acquittal in the case where he was accused of raping a woman in a hotel elevator.Ponda said police failed to attach and seal the DVR containing the hotel’s CCTV footage for nine days, from Nov 21 to 29, leaving it vulnerable to tampering. He told the court that not only the investigating officer but also independent witnesses had said they viewed the first floor footage, and none had indicated at the time that it was missing.“Where and how has the DVR footage disappeared?” Ponda asked, alleging it was “destroyed”.The trial court, in its 527-page 2021 judgment acquitting Tejpal, had noted that while CCTV footage from the ground, first, and second floors was collected, the first floor footage was not available for the court’s perusal, calling it a “material lapse”.Ponda also disputed the possibility of the lift remaining shut for the duration alleged by the prosecution. He argued that emergency lifts cannot be kept in a closed circuit for more than a couple of seconds and that the lift doors opened at least twice during the relevant period, with lights visible on the opposite wall.The prosecution objected to playing CCTV footage captured within the hotel’s premises in open court as the survivor would be visible. The court then played the footage for the judges and prosecution while switching off screens for others in the courtroom.On the survivor’s claim that Tejpal pulled her back into the lift, Ponda said the footage showed Tejpal walking ahead of her as they exited. He also said the footage did not show wrist-holding, pulling, touching, or manhandling as alleged, and argued it showed her voluntarily returning to the lift with Tejpal.Ponda further told the court that after the alleged incident, the survivor, despite claiming trauma, exchanged banter with friends on WhatsApp groups.
