Supreme Court Backs Deceased Air India Pilot, Issues Notice on Plea for Independent Crash Probe
Supreme Court issued notice on plea filed by late Air India pilot Sumeet Sabharwal’s father seeking an independent judicial probe into the 2025 Ahmedabad plane crash that claimed 260 lives
'Nasty Reporting by Foreign Media’: SC Backs Late Pilot as Father Seeks Independent Probe into Ahmedabad Crash
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a petition filed by 91-year-old retired Air Force officer and father of deceased Air India pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, seeking an independent judicial probe into the Ahmedabad Plane Crash that claimed 260 lives in June this year.
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi heard the plea challenging the ongoing investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which the petitioner alleged lacked independence.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted, “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 an independent one. It has taken four months.”
Issuing notice, Justice Kant said the matter would be tagged with a connected case and listed on November 10 or November 11.
During the hearing, Sankaranarayanan pointed out, “There’s a problem with Boeing aircrafts all over the world.”
Justice Bagchi observed, “If you’re challenging the investigation, you’ll have to challenge the statutory provisions of the Act itself.”
The senior counsel argued that Rule 12 mandates impartial investigation, stressing that the present case qualified as an “accident,” not merely an “incident.”
Justice Surya Kant expressed sympathy, remarking, “This crash is extremely unfortunate, but don’t carry the burden that your son is being blamed. Nobody can blame him for anything.”
Justice Bagchi added, “There’s no insinuation against the pilot in the preliminary report.”
When the petitioner referred to a Wall Street Journal article citing unnamed Indian government sources, Justice Bagchi clarified, “We’re not concerned with foreign reports. Your remedy, if any, lies before a foreign court.”
Calling the foreign coverage “nasty reporting,” Justice Kant assured, “No one in India believes it was the pilot’s fault.”
The matter will be listed along with the connected case on Monday or Tuesday.
The petitioner Pushkaraj Sabharwal has alleged that the investigation ordered by Aviation Ministry and the preliminary report dated 15.06.2025 is defective and suffers from serious infirmities and perversities, as the report implausibly asserts the cause of the crash to pilot error, while overlooking other glaring and plausible systemic causes that demand independent scrutiny and investigation of the incident.
The petition also filed by a society representing over 6,000 professional pilots, of which Late Capt. Sabharwal and Co-Pilot Captain Late Mr Clive Kunder were respected and longstanding members, states that Capt. Sabharwal had an unblemished career spanning over 30 years, with 15,638 hours of incident-free flying, including 8,596 hours on Boeing 787-8 aircraft, without a single reported lapse or incident causing fatalities or otherwise.
Preliminary investigation into the crash is alleged to be profoundly flawed as the investigation team had rather that conducting a comprehensive technical inquiry, appears to have predominantly focused on the deceased pilots, who are no longer able to defend themselves, while failing to examine or eliminate other more plausible technical and procedural causes of the crash.
The five-member investigation team appointed to investigate the crash is argued to be manifestly illegal and void, as it violates the fundamental principle of natural justice, i.e. nemo judex in causa sua, which mandates that no person should be a judge in their own cause.
The Supreme Court had issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Safety Matters Foundation, seeking an independent and court-monitored investigation into the crash of Air India Flight AI171 that killed 260 people on June 12, 2025. The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh had heard arguments raising concerns over the impartiality and transparency of the probe conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
The petition, filed by Safety Matters Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting aviation safety, raises grave concerns over the selective and incomplete disclosures made by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in its preliminary report. The ill-fated Dreamliner, operating as Air India Flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12, 2025, killing 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 individuals on the ground. The aircraft, manufactured in 2013 and powered by GEnx-1B70 engines, had a valid Airworthiness Review Certificate at the time of the accident.
Case Title: Pushkaraj Sabharwal and Anr. vs. Union of India and Others
Hearing Date: November 7, 2025
Bench: Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi