The Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC) welcomes the recent conviction by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court of Tarun Tejpal, former Editor-in-Chief, Tehelka accused by a young woman journalist of sexual assault during an official event in Goa in 2013.

At the time, the IWPC had condemned this, highlighting the imperative for media organizations to enforce strict internal accountability through robust mechanisms like the Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) established under the Vishakha Guidelines.

In its ruling in 2021, the Goa sessions court had acquitted Tejpal, saying the complainant “did not demonstrate any kind of normative behaviour” a victim of sexual assault “might plausibly show”. In its judgment, the High Court has rejected the ‘perfect victim concept, or the ‘ideal victim’ that describes an unspoken cultural archetype where a person is fully believed, sympathised with and granted legitimacy only if they exhibit absolute vulnerability, complete innocence and total passivity.

During the court hearings, it was noted that this virtually laid down guidelines on how the victim “should” respond in such circumstances making it a “classic case of perverse findings”. Further, the Bench noted that she faced nearly 1,000 pages of cross-examination over 18 hearing dates.  It found that questions about her sexual history and personal relationships were invasive, humiliating and amounting to harassment.

The judgement has ramifications beyond the specifics of the case for calling out the archetypical notions of women as a suffering victim – as a pre-condition to their getting justice in a court of law. We welcome the Bombay High Court order as a repudiation of patriarchal stereotypes around survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment.