New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and other relevant authorities, seeking their response to a plea filed by Pushkar Raj Sabharwal — father of the late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was Pilot-in-Command of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that tragically crashed in Ahmedabad in June, claiming 260 lives.
The petition, filed by the grieving father, calls for a “fair, transparent, and technically sound investigation” into the fatal incident, to be monitored by a retired judge.
During the hearing, Justice Surya Kant extended sympathy towards the petitioner, saying, “It’s extremely unfortunate that this crash took place, but you should not carry this burden that your son is being blamed… Nobody can blame him.” He further added, “No one in India believes it was the pilot’s fault.”
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was also part of the Bench, noted that the preliminary report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not attribute any fault to the pilot.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, contended that the ongoing AAIB probe lacked independence. “I am the father of the Commander of the plane… I am 91 years old. This is a non-independent investigation. It should have been independent. It has taken four months,” he argued, urging the Court to order a judicially monitored probe under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules.
Sankaranarayanan further emphasized that the matter had larger global implications, pointing to “persistent safety issues involving Boeing aircraft” that have raised concerns worldwide.
