Supreme Court judge, Justice L Nageswara Rao on Friday recused himself from hearing an appeal filed by former Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka magazine Tarun Tejpal challenging the order of the Bombay High Court at Goa which has rejected his application for in-camera hearing in the 2013 sexual assault case.

A Bench headed by Justice Rao posted the matter for hearing on Monday before another Bench saying he had appeared in 2015 as the counsel for the State of Goa in the case. Tejpal in his appeal has sought an in-camera hearing of the appeal filed by the State of Goa against his acquittal in the sexual assault case. The trial court in Goa on May 21, 2021 had acquitted Tejpal of all charges levelled against him including wrongful confinement, assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, sexual harassment and rape against his female colleague.