NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Tuesday directed former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to first surrender within three weeks, saying that his appeal against conviction and 10-year imprisonment in a

rape case

would be heard only thereafter.Justice Alok Aradhe rejected Tejpal’s plea for exemption from surrendering and asked him to file a surrender certificate before it. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, sought three weeks’ time to surrender, the bench granted him time to surrender.

Goa govt opposed his plea for exemption from surrendering and said his appeal was not admissible since he had not filed a separate application seeking exemption from surrender or shown a certificate that he has already surrendered as per Order XXII Rule 5 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.The Goa bench of Bombay HC convicted Tejpal under multiple provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment each under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k), with the sentences to run concurrently.The case relates to two alleged incidents at Grand Hyatt in Goa during Tehelka’s THiNK Fest in Nov 2013. The high court found the victim’s evidence consistent and credible despite extensive cross-examination. The case against Tejpal involves allegations that he sexually assaulted a junior colleague twice in 2013, in an elevator of a high-end hotel in Goa.The Goa Police subsequently registered an FIR against Tarun Tejpal.