Tarun Tejpal Acquittal: Trivializing Women Dignity
Oshin Gupta, LLM, Institute of Law, Nirma University.
ABSTRACT
The acquittal of journalist Tarun Tejpal, former Editor-in-Chief of the Tehelka magazine, who was convicted in 2013 with the rape, unlawful confinement, and sexual harassment of a young woman journalist working at the magazine, is a tomb travesty of justice and a major crushing defeat for the Indian feminism movement and, in specific, the security of women in the workplace. The victim was placed on trial by the court, which was relentless in humiliating and demeaning her. The decision of the Additional Sessions Judge Kshama M. Joshi established standards for a credible witness and the typical appearance of a traumatized victim, then proceeds to bash into the
victim since she failed all of the so-called criteria. The Tarun Tejpal case is a mere act of grave shame.
The present text examines the extremely inadequate verdict and the prejudiced behavior of the courts toward sexual abuse victims. It aims to point out at the notions that the so-called society holds about how an abuse victim should act and behave in order to be a ‘perfect victim’.
Keywords: Acquittal, Tehelka Magazine, Women, Feminism, Victim, Justice.
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