SC dismisses plea on Air India crash report, questions petitioner’s ‘agenda’

The Supreme Court on 1 April dismissed a petition related to the preliminary investigation report into the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, with the bench questioning the petitioner’s intent behind the plea.

A bench headed by Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi expressed strong disapproval of the petition.

“What is your deep-rooted agenda? As if we don’t understand the motive,” the Chief Justice said, adding that families of victims had not approached the court while the petitioner had filed the plea.

Plea and court observations

The petitioner had challenged a 25 February order of the Delhi High Court, which rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking disclosure of the “complete sequence of events” leading to the crash in the preliminary report.

He had sought directions to modify the report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to include technical details such as the timeline of engine “flame out” and fuel switch transitions.

The Supreme Court declined to entertain the request and also refused to treat the plea as a representation to authorities.

The Delhi High Court had earlier termed the PIL “highly misconceived” and held that such directions could not be granted.

It had said the petitioner could instead seek information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, adding that relevant details would be provided if permissible under law.

The case relates to the crash of Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft bound for London Gatwick, which went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on 12 June last year.

The crash killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 persons on the ground.

The Supreme Court’s dismissal reinforces judicial reluctance to intervene in technical investigations through PILs, particularly where alternative legal remedies such as the RTI mechanism are available.