Allegations followed Stan Swamy to the grave: Plea in Bombay HC seeks to clear priest’s name

The petition filed by Father Mascarenhas seeks a judicial inquiry into Stan Swamy's death in custody and to remove the ‘odium of guilty’ attached to the tribal rights activist's name.

Five months after the death of Elgar Parishad case accused Father Stan Swamy, his friend, Father Frazer Mascarenhas, approached the Bombay High Court to clear Swamy’s name. The plea asks for a judicial inquiry into his death in custody and to remove the ‘odium of guilty’ attached to the tribal rights activist's name.

Father Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College and present Parish Priest of St Peter’s Church, has moved the plea while stating that the charges against Swamy were of an extremely serious nature. The special NIA Court had in two orders dated Oct 22, 2020 and March 22 this year, held that there is a prima facie case made out against Stan Swamy. It was on this ground that Swamy's bail was rejected by the court.