New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked a Goa court to start examining witnesses in an alleged rape case of 2013 against
Tarun Tejpal, the founder of Tehelka magazine, saying there would be no stay of trial in the matter.
The apex court asked the Bombay high court, which had earlier directed the trial court not to examine the witnesses, to decide within three months the plea filed by Tejpal challenging framing of charges against him.
Tejpal is alleged to have sexually assaulted a former colleague inside the elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013. Tejpal has denied all allegations levelled against him.
The matter on Wednesday came up for hearing before a bench comprising justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao and Tejpal's counsel argued that the high court has asked the trial court not to proceed with the examination of witnesses in the case.
Senior advocate Aman Lekhi and advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, representing Tejpal, told the bench that they have not delayed the case in any manner and there were 151 prosecution witnesses in the matter.
Lekhi also claimed that the police had withheld the footage of CCTV camera which was installed in the corridor outside the lift of the hotel.
