‘Nobody can blame pilot’: Supreme Court issues notice on Air India crash probe, snubs foreign reports as ‘nasty’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Nobody can blame pilot’: Supreme Court issues notice on Air India crash probe, snubs foreign reports as ‘nasty’")
A crane removing aeroplane's tail from the wreckage after the June 12 Air India flight 171 crash, is pictured in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 14, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
The Supreme Court on Friday (Nov 7) observed that no one can blame the pilot for the crash of Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad earlier in June this year, killing 260 people onboard and on the ground.
The Supreme Court on Friday (Nov 7) observed that no one can blame the pilot for the crash of Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad earlier in June this year, killing 260 people onboard and on the ground. The court issued a notice to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in response to the plea made by the pilot’s father for a judicial inquiry into the plane crash.
The A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the petition filed by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, the father of Commander Sumeet Sabharwal, one of the pilots who was flying the tragic Air India plane.
“It’s extremely unfortunate, this crash, but you should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed. Nobody can blame him for anything,” Justice Kant told the Senior Advocate.
“I am the father of the Commander of the plane... I am 91 years old. This is a non-independent investigation. It should have been independent. It has taken four months,” Sabharwal stated in his plea. He also urged the court to monitor the investigation into the crash under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, which mandates impartiality in accident probes. During the hearing, his concerns about his late son being unfairly blamed for the plane crash were also addressed.
“One pilot asked whether the fuel was cut off by the other; the other said no. There's no suggestion of fault in that report,” the Justice Bagchi noted.
His lawyer, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, highlighted safety concerns regarding Boeing aircraft globally, adding that the Ahmedabad crash must be seen in a broader context. However, Justice Bagchi observed that if he challenges the investigation itself, he would have to “challenge the statutory provisions of the Act itself.”
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The top court also snubbed foreign reports, saying that no one in India believes that the crash was the pilot’s fault.
“We are not bothered by foreign reports. Your remedy should then be before a foreign court,” Justice Bagchi said. Justice Kant added, “That is nasty reporting. No one in India believes it was the pilot's fault.”
