tarun tejpal

Thirteen years after accusing Tarun Tejpal of rape, his former colleague has taken to Substack to recount her ordeal, the trauma of the trial, and how she was repeatedly reduced to labels like “victim”, “liar” and “political plant”.

The revelations of workplace harassment and abusive culture at Newslaundry expose a deeper crisis in Indian journalism: when principles become ideological weapons, accountability becomes selective.

The apology by Newslaundry and Abhinandan Sekhri are a scam and a lie - They defended Tarun Tejpal with the article and tweet being live hours after rape conviction

In November 2013, when the sexual assault case against Tejpal was dominating headlines, Sibal told The Sunday Express that he had donated Rs 5 lakh to Tejpal in 2003, when Tehelka was starting its print edition.

While the High Court has now rejected those stereotypes as myths and upheld the victim’s testimony, the initial and prolonged response from sections of the Leftist journalistic and celebrity ecosystem told an opprobrious story of reflexive scepticism and even blaming and protection of Tarun Tejpal, their blue-eyed boy.

The fact that Newslaundry published the rape apologist article, did not feel sorry for the trauma caused to the victim and dared to later remove it with a standard 'self-reflection' note highlighted how the rot ran deep into the system.

The high and mighty, elite sections of society tried to defend Tejpal by downplaying a serious crime like sexual harassment in the workplace.

Back in 2021, Tarun Tejpal was acquitted by a Goa Sessions Court in the sexual assault case. His acquittal was challenged by the Goa government before the High Court.