Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Plea before Supreme Court seeks suo moto cognizance, immediate interim compensation

A letter petition has been filed before Supreme Court of India urging Chief Justice of India to take suo moto cognizance of the Air India Flight AI171 crash incident that occurred yesterday on 12th June, 2025.

The petition filed by Dr. Saurav Kumar and Dr. Dhruv Chauhan has sought to draw the court's immediate attention and intervention in the catastrophic crash that occurred at Ahmedabad, Gujarat and resulted in the tragic loss of 241 precious lives out of 242 people on board.

Within less than one minute of departure, the aircraft's transponder signal was lost, and the aircraft crashed into a densely populated residential area in the Bopal locality of Ahmedabad, approximately 3 kilometers from the airport perimeter and the impact resulted in a massive explosion and fire, causing complete destruction of the aircraft and significant damage to residential properties in the crash zone, the petition submits.

Filed through Advocate Satyam Singh, the petition seeks a direction to the Central Government to immediately announce and disburse interim compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs to each family of the deceased victims, including the victims/resident Doctors present at BJMC Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

"Direct the Central Government to constitute a High-Level Expert Committee comprising retired Supreme Court/High Court judges, aviation experts, actuaries, and economists to assess and award final compensation to the families of victims, taking into consideration the principles laid down in Triveni Kodkany vs Air India Limited (supra) and other relevant precedents", the petitioners have further prayed.

A direction to Air India Limited to expedite the settlement of compensation claims without requiring families to undergo prolonged litigation has been sought.

Citing the Air India Express Flight IX 812 crash at Mangalore on 22nd May, 2010, which resulted in 158 fatalities, the petitioners have highlighted that in that case the Supreme Court ultimately awarded compensation to the victim, depending upon individual circumstances, after protracted litigation spanning over a decade.

The Air India Express Flight IX 344 crash at Kozhikode on 7th August, 2020, which resulted in 21 fatalities, has also been cited submitting that the compensation process was expedited, with interim payments of Rs. 10-15 lakhs per victim being made promptly, followed by additional compensation based on detailed assessment.

Court has been told that many of the deceased were likely primary breadwinners of their families, including young professionals, medical practitioners, and skilled workers whose sudden demise has created immediate financial distress and long-term economic hardship for the surviving family members, including elderly parents, spouses, and minor children.