Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal granted bail by SC

July 1, 2014

New Delhi, Jul 1: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted regular bail to Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, who has been accused of raping a colleague, after almost eight month, reports said.

Tejpal has been chargesheeted for allegedly raping, sexually harassing and outraging the modesty of a junior colleague during an event held at a hotel in Goa in November last year.

According to reports, the SC put stringent conditions for Tejpal's release on bail saying violation of any condition would lead to cancellation of his bail and added that he should not attempt to influence witnesses.

Tejpal's interim bail was extended by the apex court till Tuesday on June 27.

The Goa government had opposed the grant of interim relief to 51-year-old Tejpal, saying that the victim and her boyfriend were getting threatening emails from some phishing sites and they seemed to be under some surveillance.

The bench, however, extended the relief, saying that his plea for regular bail is coming up for hearing just after three days on Tuesday.

The apex court had on May 19 granted him interim bail for three weeks to enable him to attend the cremation of his mother, who had died on May 18, and subsequent rituals.

Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013 and is presently out on interim bail.

He has been accused of sexually assaulting the victim on November 7 and repeating the offence the next day.

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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