MUMBAI, Dec. 12 -- Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier's College and a close associate of the late Father Stan Swamy, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that he will challenge the magistrate's inquiry report and the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) order that upheld it. Both reports concluded that Swamy, who died in judicial custody while awaiting trial in the Elgar Parishad case, had died a natural death. Mascarenhas had approached the court in 2021, arguing that although the 84-year-old suffered age-related ailments, his health had deteriorated in custody due to inadequate medical care and prison conditions. The petition, filed through senior advocate Mihir Desai and advocate Rishika Agarwal, said the inquiry should examine not just the immediate cause of death but also the circumstances leading up to it. It sought an independent investigation and urged the high court to monitor the inquiry in line with Human Rights Commission guidelines. However, the magistrate's report, submitted on April 24, 2024, found no evidence of foul play, negligence or any factor suggesting an unnatural death. It stated that Swamy's medical records indicated complications arising from age and pre-existing conditions. The SHRC, on May 2, 2025, upheld these findings and closed the case, noting that it found no indication of custodial violence or medical lapses. The NIA had earlier told the court that Mascarenhas's plea was based on unfounded apprehensions, adding that the inquiry was conducted lawfully. During Thursday's hearing, Desai said the probe had taken "four years" and that the findings would now be contested. Justices AS Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale allowed him to withdraw his petition, granting him liberty to file a fresh challenge to the orders....