NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the central government three weeks to submit a status report on the investigation into the Ahmedabad air crash that killed 260 people.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by the father of the late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command of Air India flight AI-171, which crashed on June 12, 2025. The pleas seek an independent, court-monitored investigation into the incident.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, told the court that the probe being conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is nearing completion. He said the inquiry is at its final stage and that certain aircraft components have been sent to foreign jurisdictions for specialized testing.
Mehta added that international investigation protocols are being followed, noting that the crash involved victims of multiple nationalities.
Taking note of the submissions, the bench directed the Centre to file the status report within three weeks in a sealed cover, along with an affidavit explaining the procedural protocol followed so far. The court also asked for a progress update to be placed on record at the next hearing.
Appearing for the NGO Safety Matters Foundation, advocate Prashant Bhushan told the court that pilot associations had raised safety concerns regarding Boeing 787 aircraft and had sought grounding of the planes until a comprehensive examination is carried out. He argued that representations highlighting these issues had not received any response from either the government or the investigation authorities.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Captain Sabharwal’s father, reiterated the demand for a court-monitored probe. He contended that in past international air crash investigations, initial findings had placed blame on pilots, while later inquiries revealed technical defects in the aircraft. He referred to previous Boeing 737 crashes in which, he said, key documents were not immediately made public and pilots were initially faulted before regulators identified design issues.
Describing the incident as “very unfortunate,” the bench cautioned against making broad or premature allegations against any specific aircraft model or airline in the absence of conclusive findings.
The court noted that aircraft such as the Dreamliner had once been regarded as among the safest and referred to recent media reports about an alleged fuel switch issue on another Dreamliner flight, which were later clarified by official sources. The bench said that while the Ahmedabad crash was a grave tragedy, comments about any airline or aircraft model should be made with restraint until the investigation is complete. (Source: IANS)
