'Nobody Can Blame Him For Anything...': SC To Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's Father

The Supreme Court issues notice to the Centre on the plea by the Air India pilot Sumeet Sabharwal's father, seeking a judicial inquiry into the Ahmedabad plane crash and alleging bias in the initial probe.

Efforts underway to remove AI-171 wreckage. (PHOTO: IANS)

The Supreme Court of India Friday asked the Central Government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to respond to the urgent plea seeking an independent judicial probe into the June crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people.

The court had issued the notices following a petition filed by 91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of deceased Pilot-in-Command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who demanded accountability and an independent investigation sans administrative bias.

SC Rejects Pilot Blame Narrative

Add Zee News as a Preferred Source

A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi consoled the distraught petitioner, telling him not to burden himself with perceived blame against his son. 

Pilot Vindicated: Justice Kant told the pilot's father, "It’s extremely unfortunate, this crash, but you should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed. Nobody can blame him for anything." 

Report Analysis: The bench further clarified that the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau does not signal the pilot's fault. 

"There is no insinuation against the pilot even in the preliminary probe report," the court added. The judge said the report only refers to one pilot asking the other if the fuel switch was cut off and the other replying in the negative. 

Dismissing Foreign Media: The top court also criticized sensational coverage by foreign media, calling it "nasty reporting," and affirmed, "No one in India believes it was the pilot's fault." 

Plea For Independent Judicial Inquiry

The petition, which the court has agreed to hear along with a similar plea next week, contends that the ongoing investigation by AAIB is not independent and has made premature indications of human error by focusing on the cockpit conversation about the fuel cut-off. 

The preliminary report by AAIB had indicated that fuel control switches for both the engines moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' just seconds after the lift-off of Boeing 787-8, causing the loss of thrust in both the engines and leading to the catastrophic crash.