Air India crash probe follows ICAO standards, Centre tells Supreme Court

The Centre told the Supreme Court the Ahmedabad air crash probe follows ICAO standards due to foreign victims. Petitioners, fearing the pilot will be blamed, seek a judge-monitored inquiry. The SC asked them to respond to the government's stance.

Probe follows ICAO standards: Centre to SC

The Central government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that the investigation into the Air India Ahmedabad crash is being conducted in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, which prescribe the statutory framework for air crash investigations. Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Centre, told the bench that the crash involved foreign nationals among the victims. Therefore, he said, the probe must follow the internationally recognised regime governing aviation accidents, as laid down under ICAO protocols.

Court observes pilot cannot be blamed

The top court, after hearing the Centre's submissions, directed the petitioners, the father of deceased Captain Sumit Sabharwal and the NGO Safety Matters Foundation, to file their counter-affidavits responding to the government's position. Earlier, the Supreme Court termed as "unfortunate" the Air India crash in June in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people, and observed that nobody could blame the pilot for the crash. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said, "no one in India believes it was the pilot's fault." The top court also issued notices to the Centre, DGCA and others on a plea filed by the father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was the Pilot-in-Command of the Air India pilot in a London-bound flight from Ahmedabad, seeking a retired judge-monitored fair, transparent, and technically sound probe into the crash of Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench that the current investigation being conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was not independent. He raised concerns that the pilot might be unfairly blamed for the accident. "It's extremely unfortunate that this crash took place, but you (father) should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed... Nobody can blame him (Pilot) for anything," Justice Kant said.

Justice Bagchi also said that there was no insinuation against the pilot in the preliminary AAIB report.

Petitioners seek fair and transparent probe

91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal and Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) had filed the plea seeking the constitution of a judicially monitored committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and with independent experts from the aviation sector as its members. The plea had said the probe presently being undertaken by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the preliminary report dated June 15 submitted pursuant to that investigation are "defective and suffer from serious infirmities and perversities". It sought directions that all prior investigations conducted by the DGCA into the accident, including the preliminary report dated July 12, be treated as closed and all relevant materials, data, and records be transferred to the judicially monitored committee or court of inquiry. (ANI)

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