Plea in SC seeks independent probe into 12 June Air India crash

A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation into the 12 June crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives, including passengers, crew and people on the ground. The petitioner argued that selective leaks from the official inquiry have unfairly placed the blame on the pilots, who died in the crash, while larger questions of aircraft safety remain unaddressed.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on Friday tagged the petition with a previously pending matter raising similar concerns. The court asked petitioner Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, a Delhi University research scholar and practising advocate, to serve copies of the plea to the Attorney General and Solicitor General for further consideration. Senior advocate Rajiv Shakdher, appearing for Mishra, said his client was only seeking “a fair probe into the tragic incident”.

Filed through advocate Shubham Upadhyay, the petition asked the apex court to ensure a “fair, transparent, and court-monitored investigation” into the circumstances of the crash. It cited the preliminary findings of the ministry of civil aviation’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which suggested both engines shut down abruptly after the fuel control switches moved from run to cutoff within a second.

The plea, however, flagged “inconsistencies and contradictions” in this account. According to cockpit voice recordings (CVR), one pilot can be heard asking, “Why did you cut off?" with the other replying, “I didn’t". The petitioner noted that the aircraft remained airborne for only 40 seconds, making such exchanges consistent with confusion, not negligence.

The petition further argued that both pilots were highly experienced, with a combined 19,000 flying hours, including over 9,000 on Boeing 787 aircraft. Aviation experts have stressed that the fuel cutoff switches cannot be flipped accidentally and require deliberate action, casting doubt on the theory of pilot error.

“Despite these alarming indications of possible design malfunction, software fault, or systemic failure within the aircraft, Boeing has not been issued any directives or held accountable at any level in the preliminary report,” the plea stated. It accused the inquiry of “unjustifiably” shifting responsibility to the deceased pilots, allowing Boeing to evade scrutiny — a pattern the company has been accused of in past aviation disasters.

The credibility of the probe has also been questioned after details of the AAIB’s preliminary report appeared in the Wall Street Journal almost 20 hours before the government officially released it. The petitioner argued that such selective leaks “compromised” the report’s integrity and created a media narrative that vilified the pilots.

These concerns echo those voiced by families of the victims. Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, recently told reporters that the inquiry appeared designed to “blame the dead who cannot defend themselves” rather than hold the aircraft manufacturer accountable.

On 22 September, the Supreme Court had already expressed disapproval over the handling of the crash probe in connection with a separate petition filed by the NGO Safety Matters Foundation. It described the selective publication of findings attributing lapses to the pilots as “unfortunate and irresponsible,” noting that such leaks can prejudice the investigation and hurt the dignity of victims’ families.

The court also underlined the importance of swift and transparent inquiries to quell rumours and prevent speculation on social and mainstream media. Notices have been issued to the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on whether an independent and expeditious probe can be guaranteed.

With multiple petitions now pending, the focus is increasingly on whether the official investigation will confront deeper questions about systemic and design flaws in Boeing aircraft, or continue to lean on the narrative of pilot error — a narrative critics say risks compounding the tragedy for families who have already lost loved ones.

With PTI inputs