Mumbai, Dec 12: The Bombay High Court has allowed Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College, to file a fresh petition challenging the magistrate’s judicial inquiry report and the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission’s order that both concluded Father Stan Swamy’s death in custody was due to natural causes.
Earlier Petition Rendered Infructuous After Inquiry Reports
A bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and R R Bhonsale, on Thursday, permitted Mascarenhas to withdraw his 2021 petition, which had sought a judicial inquiry into Swamy’s death and the clearing of his name in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case.
The court noted that the substantive reliefs sought in the earlier plea had become infructuous after the submission of official inquiry reports — first by the magistrate, followed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).
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Background: Stan Swamy’s Death Sparked Demand for Inquiry
Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, died on July 5, 2021, while awaiting bail in the Elgar Parishad case. His death triggered demands for an independent inquiry into whether negligence or rights violations had occurred during his incarceration.
Mascarenhas, a close associate of Swamy, had approached the High Court in his capacity as de facto next of kin, appointed by the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province.
Petitioner to Challenge Magistrate and SHRC Findings
Advocate Mihir Desai, appearing for Mascarenhas, informed the court that his client intended to challenge both the magistrate’s findings and the SHRC’s subsequent endorsement. The magistrate’s report — submitted nearly three years after Swamy’s death — concluded that he died of “septicemia due to lobar pneumonia”, categorising it as a natural death.
The Maharashtra SHRC, on May 2, 2025, accepted the findings, stating that no medical negligence, foul play or human rights violation had been established.
NIA Opposes, Says Fresh Petition is Required
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the National Investigation Agency (NIA), argued that Mascarenhas’ prayers no longer survived because the judicial inquiry had already been completed. He submitted that if Mascarenhas wanted to contest the findings, he must file a new petition rather than seek amendments to the old one.
NIA Defends Arrest; HC Grants Liberty to File Fresh Petition
The NIA, in its affidavit, also defended Swamy’s arrest, asserting that all procedures were followed and criticising the allegation that the “odium of the accusation” had persisted after his death.
The bench agreed that Mascarenhas could not expand the scope of the old petition to introduce a new cause of action. While disposing of the original plea, it granted him liberty to file a fresh petition challenging both the magistrate’s report and the SHRC order.
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Court Rejects NIA Objection to Challenge
The judges also rejected the NIA’s objection to such a challenge, observing that the petitioner was entitled to contest the findings of both bodies.
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