Congress loved rapist Tarun Tejpal: How Kapil Sibal donated 5 lakh to help Tehelka launch its print edition, Sonia Gandhi wanted to shield him
· OpIndia
The conviction of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 rape case has once again brought attention to his long association with influential figures in politics especially from Congress, journalism and public life. More than 12 years after the assault, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court overturned his 2021 acquittal and convicted him in the case. The court sentenced Tejpal to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and gave him time to surrender. Tejpal has said he will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The case dates back to November 2013, when a young woman working with Tehelka accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside an elevator at the Grand Hyatt in Bambolim, Goa, during the magazine’s THiNK event; the allegations related to incidents on 7th and 8th November. Tejpal stepped down as Tehelka’s editor-in-chief after the allegations surfaced, saying that he wanted to “recuse” himself from the organisation. He was arrested on 30th November, 2013, and was later released on bail.
Visit h-doctor.club for more information.
The legal battle continued for years. Tejpal faced charges including rape, sexual harassment and assault with intent to disrobe. In May 2021, a Goa sessions court acquitted him of all charges. The judgment was criticised for the way it examined the survivor’s conduct and reactions. The Bombay High Court has now reversed that acquittal and convicted Tejpal. The court’s verdict has again brought the former Tehelka chief’s career and the ecosystem around the magazine under scrutiny.
Kapil Sibal’s Rs 5 lakh donation to propaganda outlet Tehelka
As public scrutiny around Tehelka intensified over the years, political connections backing the far-left media outlet also came under intense scrutiny. One name that has resurfaced in the context of Tehelka is former Union law minister and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal. 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.
Sibal was responding to questions about his financial connection with Tehelka. According to documents available with the Registrar of Companies, Sibal held 80 shares in Anant Media Private Ltd, the company that published Tehelka, amounting to a 0.04 per cent stake at the time. Sibal, however, said he did not consider himself a stakeholder in the publication, despite holding a stake in Tehelka and paying them to start their print edition.
“I don’t have any stake in Tehelka,” Sibal said.
Explaining the Rs 5 lakh payment, he said: “When Tarun approached me for help in 2003, I was a lawyer at that time… I helped him. I gave a donation of Rs 5 lakh in 2003. I did not apply for shares, nor am I given any share allotment.”
Sibal said the donation was linked to his belief in press freedom. “The donation was my commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of press… After they lost everything following the witch hunt of the BJP-led government for exposing corruption,” he said.
The donation came after Tehelka’s website had carried out its controversial Operation West End sting against then BJP president Bangaru Laxman and the NDA government. The operation brought Tehelka national attention and also triggered a political storm over alleged corruption in defence deals.
The corporate records also showed that Sibal continued to hold 80 shares. His stake was 0.08 per cent until 2010-11 and fell to 0.04 per cent after fresh equity was infused into the company in 2011-12. Sibal also rejected speculation about a family relationship with Tejpal, saying, “The misinformation doing the rounds is both false and motivated. Tarun Tejpal is not my nephew.”
According to the same report, Tejpal and his family members held around 19% in Tehelka, while industrialist and Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member K D Singh held around 65% through direct and indirect holdings at the time.
Thus, while Sibal denied having a substantial stake in Tehelka, his own statement confirmed that he had financially supported Tejpal when the magazine was entering the print business.
Tehelka and the controversial Operation West End
Long before the assault case, Tehelka had built its reputation through controversial and defamatory sting operations. It was March 2001. Tehelka, the far-left media organisation, decided to ‘uncover’ corruption within the defence establishments and political circles. One of its most infamous investigations was Operation West End, launched to expose alleged corruption in defence procurement.
They floated a fake company by the name of ‘West End International’ and set out to sell hand-held thermal cameras/ imagers to the Government of India. ‘Journalists’ Aniruddha Bahal and Mathew Samuel posed as ‘arms dealers’ and tried to secure defence contracts as part of their sting dubbed ‘Operation West End.’ Tehelka’s team employed hidden cameras and audio recording devices to capture conversations with high-ranking officials and politicians involved in defence deals.
The undercover investigation spanned several months. Some prominent politicians, bureaucrats, and army personnel were caught on camera accepting bribes and discussing kickbacks in defence deals. Tehelka was soon in the dock over entrapment charges, the missing ‘authenticity’ in its evidence, and lack of ethics as displayed through its bribing of officials to create sensationalism.
As per reports, Tehelka journalists extended their sting operation, much beyond exposing corruption. Aniruddha Bahal and Mathew Samuel arranged for call girls and even filmed explicit encounters involving three defence officials. The revelation caused an uproar and turned public sentiment against Tehelka, as it raised ethical questions and challenged the moral high ground that the news portal once took. Tehelka was criticised by politicians such as Madhavrao Scindia and Chandra Shekhar.
Reports at the time also alleged that Tehelka journalists used women and liquor during parts of the operation. The methods drew criticism from political leaders and raised questions about whether the magazine had crossed the line between exposing the alleged corruption and creating situations designed to produce sensational footage.
The Major General Ahluwalia defamation case
One of the most serious controversies surrounding Operation West End involved Major General M S Ahluwalia. Tehelka had accused the Army officer of involvement in corruption in defence deals. Ahluwalia denied the allegations and later filed a defamation case against Tehelka and those associated with the report.
The case continued for more than two decades. In July 2023, the Delhi High Court directed Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal and two of its journalists to pay Rs 2 crore in damages to Ahluwalia for the loss of reputation he suffered. The court noted that the officer had lived with “ill fame for more than 23 years” and said that the serious allegations of corruption had damaged his reputation.
The court observed that Ahluwalia’s reputation had suffered because his character was maligned with serious corruption allegations and said that “apology at this stage is not only inadequate but is meaningless.”
The controversy became even more significant because the allegations made by Tehelka about Ahluwalia’s demand for money were disputed. According to reports on the case, Tehelka’s initial claim regarding the alleged demand changed during the proceedings. In an Army court of inquiry, journalist Mathew Samuel also reportedly acknowledged that Ahluwalia had not demanded money or expensive whisky. The Delhi High Court subsequently dismissed Tehelka’s review plea against the damages order.
While Tehelka set out to expose the dark realities of corruption within the Indian defence establishment, it uncovered its own lack of journalistic ethics and integrity in framing Major General MS Ahluwalia.
Fake sting? Why did Congress shut down inquiry commission: How Sonia Gandhi wanted to shield Tehelka and Tarun Tejpal
After the Tehelka sting operation, a Commission was set up by the Atal Bihar Vajpayee government to inquire not only into the alleged corruption but also the authenticity of the sting operation conducted by Tehelka, headed by Tarun Tejpal. Justice Phukan was appointed to the committee for the continuation of the probe. By February 2013, Tehelka had already refused to participate in the inquiry claiming that they had no resources to continue their participation. Tejpal had claimed that Tehelka had “devoted” two years for the inquiry, and would not participate further. He had also said that all the tapes and evidence had been submitted, with nothing more to add. When asked about Tehelka participating in the financial irregularities part of the investigation, he claimed that Tehelka’s financier could participate if they wanted to, but the portal itself would not.
Interstingly, as soon as the Congress came to power in 2004, Sonia Gandhi who was the then Super PM and Manmohan Singh, who was the paper PM, disbanded the Justice Phukan Commission, inquiring into the authenticity of the sting operation by Tehelka. It was later revealed in a book that Sonia Gandhi had written a long letter to P Chidambaram while the inquiry commission was still working and instructed that the financier of Tehelka, First Global, should not be troubled and be treated “fairly”.
“Justice Phukan meant business and did not allow anyone to delay matters. He took calmly the fact that the Tehelka team decided to walk out of the Commission’s proceedings as soon he announced the tapes were being sent for checking,” writes Jaitly.”… When the Commission was still at work, Sonia Gandhi, as head of the UPA and the National Advisory Council, wrote an official letter to finance minister P Chidambaram, dated 25/27 September 2004 – a copy of which was provided to me by a highly placed source in the Opposition – asking him to ensure that First Global, Tehelka’s financiers, are not meted out ‘unjust or unfair treatment’. “She was, in fact, saying the very same thing I was trying to explain to the Tehelka person asking me a favour for the purpose of entrapment. Here again, irony was visiting…,” the book, written by Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly, claimed.
The Phukan Commission report was handed over to the Vajpayee government, but before it could be tabled in the parliament, Congress was in power. The report had found that George Fernandes, who had resigned as the defence minister after the sting operation, had no role to play in any corruption and gave him a clean chit.
The Congress government did not want to table the report. But under mounting pressure, it decided to table only a 41 page summary of the report which was submitted, finding Fernandes innocent.
Why did the Congress government not want the commission report to be tabled in full and rejected it forthright, and why did they disband the inquiry commission? Because at that time, Kapil Sibal had prematurely declared that the Tehelka tapes were authentic according to forensic reports before the reports were officially opened. However, the forensic analysis actually revealed several cuts and edits, proving that the Tehelka tapes were tampered with. This detail would have been revealed had the commission report been tabled in full – which is why – Congress’ hitman, Kapil Sibal, ensured it wasn’t. In this entire ordeal, Tehelka’s lawyer was none other than Prashant Bhushan.
Essentially, if one is to truly evaluate the facts from the time, it would become rather apparent that Tarun Tejpal, now convicted of rape, was the media henchman of Congress – funded, shielded and goaded by the Congress to tarnish and bring down a BJP government.