Pilot’s Father Moves Supreme Court for Judicial Probe into Air India Crash
The father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad this June, has moved the Supreme Court demanding an independent and transparent probe into the tragedy.
The petition, filed by 91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal along with the Federation of Indian Pilots, urges the Court to set up a judicially monitored committee led by a retired Supreme Court judge, assisted by independent aviation experts. The petition seeks a fair and technically sound inquiry into the June 12 crash that claimed 260 lives.
According to the petitioners, the ongoing investigation by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is “defective” and “biased.” They claim the preliminary report dated June 15 wrongly attributes the cause to “pilot error” while ignoring serious technical and systemic issues with the aircraft.
The plea argues that an incomplete or prejudiced investigation not only denies justice but also endangers the lives of future passengers—violating the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
It further points to several lapses in the current probe, including:
- Ignoring unexplained RAT (Ram Air Turbine) deployment before crew inputs.
- Overlooking potential electrical failures.
- Failure to probe design-level issues in the Boeing 787.
- Misplaced blame on the pilot despite implausible fuel switch movement.
- Neglect of similar past incidents involving Boeing 787 aircraft.
The Supreme Court has not yet listed this plea for hearing. It is already dealing with a separate petition by NGO Safety Matters Foundation seeking a fair and impartial investigation into the same crash.
