Justice should be meted out in Tejpal case: Tharoor

Congress stand consistently has been that any harassment of women should never be condoned, says the minister

Union Minister Shashi Tharoor today said justice should be meted out in the sexual assault complaint by a woman journalist against Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal.

'Justice should be done. The judicial process is moving on. We don't think that we can pre-judge either guilt or a judgement', he told reporters on the sidelines of a function when asked about the Congress' stand on the issue.

'But if the charges are proven, certainly we will condemn any such conduct by anybody of any party unequivocally', the Minister of State for HRD said.

'Congress stand consistently has been that any harassment of women, let alone as outrageous as sexual molestation, should never be condoned. There is no question about it', he said.

'This is why we have consistently taken the position against the outrageous intrusion that the Gujarat Government conducted on the private life of a private individual', he said referring to the snoopgate issue.

'Distorting norms, institutions in our society, that is a very serious issue. We are for zero tolerance when it comes to invading the space, the autonomy of women in our society. We are in the 21st century. This is not a time when they should be intruded upon', he said.

Tharoor said the Gujarat Government had allegedly been spending money to conduct surveillance of a young woman which was a violation of privacy and subversion of various institutions, he said adding there was something 'rotten' in that state.