NEW DELHI: A sessions court in Goa on Wednesday deferred its judgment in the rape trial of
Tarun Tejpal till May 21. Tejpal, the former Tehelka editor-in-chief, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2013.
The hearing had to be adjourned as the judge could not work on the verdict due to an electricity outage over the last 2-3 days, said Tejpal's counsel advocate Suhas Velip.
The verdict was scheduled to be pronounced on May 12 but had been adjourned till May 19 due to a shortage of staff in view of the Covid-19 crisis. Now the verdict has been deferred again till May 21.
It might be noted that India's West and Southwest coast is currently witnessing a severe cyclonic storm 'Tauktae' which has resulted in torrential rains across the region affecting several states.
Tejpal was arrested on November 30 in 2013 after being accused of raping a colleague at a five-star resort in
North Goa. He had been out on bail.
On September 29, 2017, the court had charged him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful confinement.
He, however, pleaded not guilty. Following the framing of charges, Tejpal moved the
Supreme Court seeking quashing of the charges levelled against him.
In August, the top court refused to quash the charges and directed the trial to be concluded within six months.