Tarun Tejpal, the editor-in-chief and publisher of the weekly Tehelka, has “recused” himself from his position for six months, after an allegation of him repeatedly sexually assaulting a junior journalist at the magazine.
A forwarded email sent by Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of news daily Tehelka, to her bureau, was leaked yesterday evening.
Calling it a “rude surprise” and an “untoward incident,” Chaudhury informed colleagues that Tejpal would be “recusing” himself for six months. An email from Tejpal was attached, where he said: “The last few days have been most testing, and I squarely take the blame for this. A bad lapse of judgment, an awful misreading of the situation, have led to an unfortunate incident that rails against all we believe in and fight for.”
Later yesterday evening, a person claiming to be close to the victim spoke on the phone to NDTV, confirming that Tejpal was accused of sexual assault, which happened over a period of two days at the Tehelka-organised Think Fest in Goa earlier this month.
While Chaudhury said in a comment that it was an “internal matter”, and that the victim was “satisfied” with the action taken, other reports contradict her statement. Speaking to NDTV, the as-yet-unidentified victim said she was “deeply disappointed by Tehelka’s response”. She said: “To claim that other journalists in Tehelka are satisfied is also false since my testimony has not been publicly circulated within Tehelka, only Tarun’s letter of ‘atonement’ has.”
Meanwhile, journalists on social media have disseminated excerpts from the girl’s original internal complaint email and a number of more salacious details, despite her pleas for anonymity. Perhaps this column by Nivedita Menon at Kafila sums it up the best: “Above all, we say – respect the victim’s views on how she wants to deal with the situation. Let her decide whether to take the legal route, go to the police, invoke Vishakha, call for a public acknowledgement and apology. All we need to do is back her. So that she is no longer the victim, but the agent and the survivor.”
Also see Outlook magazine’s Storified Tweets for a fuller view of what the media fraternity feels on this subject, and this excellent Newslaundry summary of the story so far.
Meanwhile, as the controversy grows, the Goa police has asked for CCTV footage from the hotel where the harassment took place. The AIPWA (All India Progressive Women’s Association) has demanded a sexual harassment cell set up in the magazine, as per the victim’s wishes. BJP spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi, too entered the fray, saying: “A private issue should not be sensationalised and a sensational issue should not be covered up.” She also accused the media of covering up criminal acts.
Last week a former intern alleged that she was sexually harassed by an ex-Supreme Court judge.
Photos by gael
Comments
"Harassment," "assault," etc... This dainty squeamishness is not helpful in discussing actual claims and legal options. I'd like to see a thread on what these women's actual legal options are, how practical they are and what relief is available.
These kind of panchayati show hearings (like the SC hearing) and public flagellations (like Tehelka's six month sabbatical) are frankly a little embarrassing. Do we lack actual legal relief?
Would these women really be satisfied with some kind of "sorry" without any real redress? If so, keep it private. If not, step up, name names and be explicit about your complaint. Calling things by their proper names confers power, not shame.
If you really want details, feel free to Google for it - there is a fair bit of explicit detail floating about the complaint on social media and a few websites, but it's not fair to the alleged victim (or Tejpal, if you're that way inclined) to repeat these here or elsewhere.
Suffice it to say, that from what I've read, the complaint looks serious enough to warrant prima facie criminal action. Whether the victim chooses to go that path or not, is entirely her choice.
If you are going to do real reporting, then do it. If you're a simple aggregator, live with that.
But if you're going to be fuzzy on substantive legal matters, don't become petulant when others notice. Try on a grown-up editorial voice and see how that works for a change. Ownership imposes greater responsibility on you, not less.
[quote name="kianganz"]Dazed & Confused, Would you like some sexy pictures to go with that report, by any chance?
If you really want details, feel free to Google for it - there is a fair bit of explicit detail floating about the complaint on social media and a few websites, but it's not fair to the alleged victim (or Tejpal, if you're that way inclined) to repeat these here or elsewhere.
Suffice it to say, that from what I've read, the complaint looks serious enough to warrant prima facie criminal action. Whether the victim chooses to go that path or not, is entirely her choice.[/quote]
I have a point - and a different one, but similar. I hope you get the point.
1. There is this legal principle of Burden of proof. the person making the allegation must prove it. beyond doubt in a criminal case, and preponderance of probabilities in civil cases. (onus shifts, burden does not)
So what about Rape?
Well, it has to be beyond doubt. right ?
No.
you ask why ?
because beyond doubt principle was applied in India, in a rape case and inspite of the victim saying she was raped by two cops - it was held that she was not raped. - by the SC. (way back in 1972)
Was there any outrage ?
Actually No.
for 7 (S-E-V-E-N) years there was total silence. (what happened to the victim/lady? she went back to normal life right? after all she was not raped, isn't it?)
till 2 Delhi University prof. picked up the case and ripped apart the SC judgment.
It is after this, the jurisprudence in India developed on rape laws and the testimony of the girl started as the most important evidence. (she won't be molested before a large gathering after all)
Lets not go by the deviant behavior or the statistical errors, that girls would use this as a tool. Would your family member use this - Rape laws as a tool? I would make an assumption - they are normal people like the majority of us.
chances are, when a girl faces such harassment, she is ashamed to report it, it takes massive courage to even report it/ disclose the event/ and face social glares. and she would like her identity to be kept private.
This is normal. if you say it is not, please tell me how. keeping in mind the girl just someone you love - a family member.
When you say, that a girl should come out in open. the least, Mr. Dazed and confused, YOU should have the courage to pass comments on the personality / character of a girl not anonymously but after disclosing your identity.
When you don't have the courage to even post with identity and go for character assassination, You sir, have no business asking any person, let alone a girl, who, if you go by the definition or Rape u/s 375 IPC as amended, has been raped, to disclose her identity.
So do have the courage to reply with your identity.
Alternately, rave and rant against Kian's style, content, the attitude of girls, my post. anything. Anonymity has it privileges after all.
While assuming you somehow got a degree from some mediocre law school, I can see clear flaw in your stupid arguments. Mathura rape case was an exceptional case and at that time there were no noted examples of "false rape" accusations in India so it suited its needs at that time, but you still living in those times, no wonder you have the audacity to personal comments like "if anyone from dazed and confused's family will falsely accuse", point is false accusations of rape and molestation do take place. For ignorant pseudo feminist lawyers like you here is the link - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/false-rape-charge-lands-woman-in-prison-for-4-years/1163643/ this woman was part of a normal family like yours and mine, but for her selfish needs she did implicate an innocent man, who had to sacrifice his life. And by the way God forbid, if you are accused of false rape/molestation anytime, please tell the judge that you are outrightly guilty, as according to you such women dont exist in INNOCENT INDIAN FAMILIES!!
Have a look at the link below (and I'm sure with 1 more minute of googling "unreported rape vs false accusations"), you can find many more), for an interesting discussion. This seems balanced enough, since it is critical of what you would probably term 'feminist propaganda', and concludes: "It is true that most rapes go unreported, that the public believes false accusations are exponentially more common than they actually are, and that a man's chances of being falsely accused of rape are incredibly small."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/01/08/the_enliven_project_s_false_rape_accusations_infographic_great_intentions.html
Again, no one denies that sometimes injustice happens. Just that statistically, many more women face the injustice of getting raped than men face the injustice of getting falsely accused (let alone convicted).
I'm not sure it's possible to quantify which injustice is greater to an individual. Some jurisprudence would argue that even one false conviction for any crime is one too many, getting raped and having no recourse or being shamed or coerced into keeping quiet, should rank pretty highly in terms of injustices that a human could take. And while a false allegation itself can ruin a life, I don't think it's on par with either being raped or spending many years in prison (plus there's defamation law too if an allegation is made maliciously).
However, in most purely utilitarian calculations of benefit and harm, due to the statistics involved, I would wager that feminist arguments would still win over 'man rights' arguments at the moment.
?? Are you kidding me?? So after 8-10 years of trauma even if the man proves that WOMAN MALICIOUSLY implicated him, the court can't award him compensation or else send the woman to jail????
Kian, while I thank you for your fairness of allowing me to voice my opinion, you have been extremely prejudiced against men, if you cant see a simple violation of human rights and cant support a law to prosecute false accusers ( those proved in court) and compensate then your forum is not different from jeezbell and other nonsensical feminist pages. Owing to my work schedules, I would rest my arguments here but continue to fight for mens rights. And yes after knowing your views and severe bias against men, now I feel more dutybound to fight for men's rights since feminists/false accusers will anyways get lot of footage in the media, thanks to Legally India etc. but a maliciously implicated man's will always be turned down by forums like those, by the reason as illogical as "statistical minority". And by the way, I am a proud anti-feminist cos its equivalent to any ideology which breeds on hate and is extremely insensitive to the opposite prty ( read men here)
Sure, reform the law if the facts and statistics support reform. But unfortunately, in all your arguments so far you have relied on anecdotes (and you would find an equal number of anecdotes about those wrongly convicted of murder, theft, drug possession, etc.)
Those individual anecdotes might tug at the heartstrings and elicit sympathy, but those alone do not a credible argument make for 'anti-feminism' or law reform.
Feel free to campaign publicly for your cause, and I will support your right to do so, but know that for most rational lawyers and policymakers, your cause will rightly rank lower in the ladder of priorities than the protection of women from sexual violence, because of the facts and numbers.
And if you do want to campaign on heartstrings, even there you're currently likely to lose on most fronts, I'm afraid.
Read and watch articles, documentaries and accounts on literally millions of male-on-female rapes that occur, and the millions that go unreported, how rape of women is used as a weapon of war, how women are raped or abused by police officers or maids raped by their bosses, about honour killings, about women beaten and abused for years by husbands or family, or sold or traded into sexual slavery or prostitution or pornography, or abandoned as widows, or stoned to death in many countries for the smallest offences, or how women are killed before even being born, giving India its skewed sex ratio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics
Sure, some of this also happens to men, which is just as evil and wrong. But the scale of misogyny in much of the world and the sheer scale of evil of crimes against women, is so much larger than the problems men will likely face in the foreseeable future from laws that are framed to protect women and which still fail terribly at that job most of the time.
All the best,
Kian
While assuming you somehow got a degree from some mediocre law school, I can see clear flaw in your stupid arguments. Mathura rape case was an exceptional case and at that time there were no noted examples of "false rape" accusations in India so it suited its needs at that time, but you still living in those times, no wonder you have the audacity to personal comments like "if anyone from dazed and confused's family will falsely accuse", point is false accusations of rape and molestation do take place. For ignorant pseudo feminist lawyers like you here is the link - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/false-rape-charge-lands-woman-in-prison-for-4-years/1163643/ this woman was part of a normal family like yours and mine, but for her selfish needs she did implicate an innocent man, who had to sacrifice his life. And by the way God forbid, if you are accused of false rape/molestation anytime, please tell the judge that you are outrightly guilty, as according to you such women dont exist in INNOCENT INDIAN FAMILIES!![/quote]
Hi feminist.
Your attacks on the point I was making are needlessly personal.
I am indeed a lawyer. and I am at present at IIM Calcutta. my linkedin profile is [url]http://www.linkedin.com/in/kumarsaurabh[/url]
If you visit, would love to give you a guided tour of this serene campus! Its worth it!
The "IIM" aspect of the name is because, I was planning to write a blog on legally India re: lawyers who wish to pursue a full time MBA from top universities. That has not been possible due to paucity of time. Will do so, though. Hopefully sooner that later. Kian permitting, blog would be on LegallyIndia.
I would be glad to have a chat with you either on phone or email. I am not sure, I would be keen to continue talking to you, without knowing who you are. You may be prohibited by office rules to disclose on public forums, but surely we can have a chat - one to one ?
If D&C has any issues with what I have to say, he could have countered me.
larger question is the politicisation of media, which some refer to as paid media. the apprehension amongst many is that the pro establishment media will prefer to cover this crime as TT is largely seen as being very close to the establishment and uses the Tehelka platform to suit their political agenda.
Avoid conflating issues of hostile workplace environment with sexual assault: they are fundamentally different problems and not part of a continuum. Inappropriate jokes at work are not necessarilly a gateway drug to rape. These are different problems with different solutions.
And let's consider allowing victims the dignity of their own names. I doubt that poor woman from Delhi last year wanted to die nameless on foreign soil, her father forbidden by law from crying out for his daughter. These are rules and habits from a patriarchal society and infantilize women.
Avoid conflating issues of hostile workplace environment with sexual assault: they are fundamentally different problems and not part of a continuum. Inappropriate jokes at work are not necessarilly a gateway drug to rape. These are different problems with different solutions.
And let's consider allowing victims the dignity of their own names. I doubt that poor woman from Delhi last year wanted to die nameless on foreign soil, her father forbidden by law from crying out for his daughter. These are rules and habits from a patriarchal society and infantilize women.[/quote]
You are a coward, Mr. Dazed and confused.
no different from the Khap Panchayats. Any different from them and you would have had the guts to disclose your identity and then make these disgusting comments.
Thoroughly disgusted.
who ?
Dazed or confused ? or disgusted ?