NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Center to file a brief report on the “procedural protocol” followed so far, after it was informed that the investigation into the June 12, 2025 Air India plane crash is in its final stages by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board.
The SC asked the Center to submit a report on the procedural protocol followed in the investigation of the Air India crashAir India Boeing 787-8 Flight AI171, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, was piloted by pilot-in-command Captain Sumit Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder. The crash occurred after the plane took off from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also among the dead.
On Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Jayamalya Bagchi was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared before the court representing the Center and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, that the AAIB investigation is in its final stages and some parts need to be conducted in foreign countries.
The top law official said three related petitions in the matter may be listed for a comprehensive hearing after three weeks.
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The bench initially opined that the AAIB inquiry report would be submitted in a sealed cover. Mehta assured the judges that details of the investigation would be shared with them.
The bench said the AAIB’s role is to determine the cause of the accident and not to attribute intent.
Appearing for NGO Safety Matters Foundation, lawyer Prashant Bhushan said three other Boeing 787s had faced similar incidents and the Center had not responded to the plea.
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CJI asked Bhushan not to believe too much in unverified media reports and said, “Last week it was said that there was some problem with the fuel switch of Dreamliner from London to Delhi. Later, the official account of the airline said that it was completely fine. But this incident was definitely very unfortunate. Let us be very conservative. Dreamliner was best commented on Dreamliner as a special airline.”
Bhushan said more than 8,000 pilots say the Boeing 787 is not safe and should be grounded. He pointed out that five members of the AAIB investigation team are from the DGCA.
“The only way to satisfy Bhushan is to appoint a committee headed by Bhushan,” the Solicitor General said.
The bench asked the Center to file a report on the procedural protocol followed so far in the investigation.
“Let us see the results of the AAIB inquiry and then we will see whether a court of inquiry will be required,” the CJI said and fixed the three petitions for hearing three weeks later.
On January 28, the apex court agreed to hear the petitions which alleged that the government probe into the June 12, 2025 Air India plane crash violated citizens’ fundamental rights to life, equality and access to truthful information.
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On November 13 last year, the top court had said that the AAIB’s preliminary report did not blame the deceased pilot Captain Sabharwal for the accident.
It also issued a notice to the Center and the DGCA on the plea of Captain Sabharwal’s father Pushkaraj Sabharwal.
Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots had petitioned the Supreme Court for a court-monitored probe led by a former judge into the accident.
The court was hearing three petitions filed by an NGO, a law student and the father of the slain pilot, seeking an independent, court-monitored probe into the crash.
Among the 241 killed were 169 Indians, 52 British, seven Portuguese, one Canadian and 12 crew members.
The sole survivor of the crash was Vishwakumar Ramesh, a British national.
Bhushan said, there should be a parallel investigation of such a big accident.
He submitted that serious accidents require a court inquiry and not just an inquiry by the AAIB.
On September 22 last year, while accepting the NGO’s plea, the court termed “unfortunate and irresponsible” the selective release of a preliminary report on the accident that outlined the pilots’ lapses and paved the way for a “media narrative”.
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