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The Supreme Court has asked the Central government to respond to a petition filed by the father of an Air India pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash. The petition seeks a judicial inquiry to find out the real cause of the accident and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. A Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and J. Suryakant expressed concern over the inaccurate reports circulating about the crash and said that the pilot should not be blamed for the tragedy.
“Nobody can blame the pilot for anything. It was a very unfortunate incident, but the initial report does not point to any fault by the pilot…, but you (the father) should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed,” the court said.
Justice Bagchi also clarified that there was no insinuation against the pilot in the preliminary AAIB report. “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 judge noted.
The judges also warned that such false reporting should not happen, adding that proper procedures exist under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules for handling such cases.
“The Wall Street Journal ran an article,” the lawyer of the pilot’s father said. “We are not bothered by foreign reports. Your remedy should then be before a foreign court? It’s just nasty reporting,” Justice Kant replied.
“I am concerned because they cited an Indian government source,” the lawyer said.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the pilot’s father, pointed out that only a preliminary investigation under Rule 9 had been done so far, which applies to initial findings. He argued that a full and independent investigation is needed under the rules that apply to serious accidents, not minor incidents.
The court reiterated that the early findings did not blame the pilot and again cautioned against spreading misinformation. It also offered condolences to the pilot’s father, saying it understood his grief and the need for a fair and transparent probe.
The petitioner further requested that the investigation follow international aviation safety standards for air crash inquiries.
The Supreme Court has now sent notices to both the Central government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and postponed the next hearing to next week.
The Air India Flight AI 171 crash took place on June 12, 2025, only a few minutes after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
The tragedy claimed the lives of 242 people on board, with just one survivor found. Additionally, at least 19 people on the ground were killed when the aircraft went down, bringing the total death toll to around 260.
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