The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted time extension for a Goa court by three months to complete the trial in a rape case against Tehelka's former editor Tarun Tejpal.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah extended the deadline from December 31, 2020 to March, 2021.
The top court had on August 19, 2019 directed the Goa court to conclude the trial at the earliest within a period of six months, saying the case lodged in 2013 by then female employee of Tehelka magazine was already delayed. The court had also said there was sufficient material against Tejpal for his trial in the case.
In October, this year, the police sought permission for an extension of time for completing the trial in the case.
The state government led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also sought permission for cross-examination of the victim-girl through video conferencing as she had lung infection and weary of travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tejpal was represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Farrukh Rasheed.