By Irudhaya Jothi
Kailashahar, Tripura, Nov 25, 2021: The Bombay High Court has permitted the Jesuits to initiate separate proceedings to clear Father Stan Swamy’s name from accusation in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case.
The Jesuit Adivasi activist died July 5 under police custody at Holy Family hospital in Mumbai, western India. The National Investigation Agency arrested him October 8, 2020 from his residence near Ranchi, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
Father Swamy was arrested the 16th civil liberties activist to be arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for alleged anti-national activities.
The NIA accused 84-year-old Jesuit of being a member of banned Maoist group that conspired to overpower the Indian government.
On November 24, the bench comprising Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal heard Jesuit Father Frazer Macarenhas’ interim application that sought to clear Father Swamy’s name from the allegations.
The plea from the former principal of Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College urged the court also urged the court to order a mandatory judicial inquiry under section 176 (1-A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure into his elderly confrere’s death, reported Live Law, a website that reports legal matters.
Father Mascarenhas and Father Joseph Xavier, another Jesuit who heads Bengaluru’s Indian Social Institute, are looking after the case on behalf of the Jesuits of South Asia with senior advocate Mihir Desai.
The court has accepted Father Mascarenhas as Father Swamy’s kin and allowed him to sign the application for separate proceedings to clear the late Jesuit’s name from the NIA accusation.
Desai, the lawyer appearing for Father Swamy, submitted a note saying, “Article 21 (Right to dignity) of the Constitution equally applies to deceased persons and just as the Appellant (Father Swamy) would have had a right to clear his name if he were alive, similarly those closest to him would have a similar right to clear his name.”
Father Xavier, a close associate of Father Stan, says the court permission “is important for us to clear the stigma attached to the name of Father Stan as he was falsely accused.”
He continued, “Even when Father Stan is no more with us, it is our right to clear his name and it is as good as he was alive.”
Many Christians already consider Father Stan as a saint.
Under the court order, Father Swamy’s body was cremated after Mass at St. Peter’s Church in Mumbai’s Bandra. It was livestreamed and watched by more than a million people around the world.
The urn containing Father Swamy’s ashes was taken around many places in India and millions – Catholics, supporters and activists, paid their reverence.
Father Swamy’s legacy has revived the spirit of prophetism in many youth and religious, especially the Jesuits in India, Father Xavier said.
The Jesuits have decided to be part of the Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad case until all the 15 people languishing in the jail are released and declared innocent and the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) repealed, he added.
It is wrong to think that Fr. STAN IS NO MORE WITH US. He is still with us in spirit. He is leading us with the stance of Truth and Courage. He is alive as a role model to the Youth to fight for justice,unmindful of the cost of even life. By establishing his innocence even after his physical departure , the biased and fabricated approach of the police will be exposed. THAT will in turn be a vindication of his integrity and dignity. THAT again will inspire many more people to strive after the goal egalitarian vision set in our Constitution. Above all , as Fr. STAN is a veteran member of Society of Jesus in India the fellow Jesuits have the rightful joy of proving the locusstandi of their confrer. This will also pave a stronger platform for their own ministry in this soil of ours.
God must vindicate Stan and ALSO those imprisoned with him on the basis of the so-called UAPA which is as good as blasphemy law in Pakistan.
What is the use of the “legal battle” when Stan is no more? God knows that Stan is innocent and he is already rewarded. Let us allow Stan to REST IN PEACE!