The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal's plea seeking exemption from surrender in connection with the 2013 rape case and directed him to surrender within two weeks.

A single-judge bench of Justice Alok Aradhe directed Tejpal to file a surrender certificate on or before September 22, making it clear that his appeal against his conviction and 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence would be heard on merits only after he surrenders, news agency IANS reported.