SC to hear PIL alleging rights violations in probe of Ahmedabad plane crash

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL of an NGO alleging that the official probe into the June 12 Air India plane crash violated citizens' fundamental rights to life, equality and access to truthful information.

Air India's Boeing 787-8 flight AI171 en route to London's Gatwick airport was operated by pilot-in-command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder. The crash took place after the flight took off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board.

On Wednesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was told by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for PIL petitioner NGO 'Safety Matters Foundation', that so far, neither the Centre nor the the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) have filed their replies to the petition.

"The entire pilots association are saying there is a problem in the Boeing 787 aircraft which needs to be grounded," Bhushan submitted.

"SIR (hearing on pleas related to special intensive revision of electoral rolls pleas) will be over today, and we will give you a short date," the CJI told Bhushan.

On November 13, last year, the top court said deceased pilot Captain Sabharwal of Air India was not blamed in the AAIB's preliminary report into the crash.

It had also issued notice to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on a plea of Pushkaraj Sabharwal, the father of Captain Sabharwal.

Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots moved the Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry headed by a former apex court judge into the crash of the Air India flight.

The top court was hearing three petitions filed by an NGO, a law student and the father of the deceased pilot seeking an independent, court-monitored investigation into the crash.

Among the 241 dead were 169 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian and 12 crew members.

The lone survivor of the crash was Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national.

Bhushan said a parallel inquiry should be conducted like a court of inquiry into the accident of such a major scale.

He submitted that serious accidents require a court of enquiry and not just an investigation by AAIB.

On September 22, while entertaining the plea of the NGO, the top court termed as "unfortunate and irresponsible" the selective publication of a preliminary report on the Air India crash which outlined lapses on the part of pilots and paved the way for a "media narrative".