The father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, one of the pilots who died in the tragic Air India flight AI171 crash, has approached the Supreme Court demanding a judicially supervised investigation into the incident. The petition, filed by 91-year-old Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), accuses the ongoing probe of lacking transparency and credibility, and calls for the constitution of a court-monitored committee led by a retired Supreme Court judge.

Plea For Fresh Investigation

Filed on October 10, the petition urges the court to treat all previous inquiries by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) as closed and transfer all related materials — including data and evidence — to a new independent committee comprising aviation and technical experts.

It specifically requests “a Judicially Monitored Committee or Court of Inquiry, headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, to ensure a fair, transparent and technically sound investigation into the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (VT-ANB) crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.”

The petition criticises the AAIB’s preliminary report released on July 12, alleging it sidestepped technical lapses and unfairly implied pilot error. It further claims the bureau’s findings ignored possible design flaws in the Boeing 787 aircraft and violated international standards under ICAO Annex 13 by compromising investigative neutrality.

Family’s Allegations And Concerns

Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, said selective leaks from the preliminary investigation had triggered false speculation about his son’s mental health. In a letter dated August 29 to the Civil Aviation Secretary and the AAIB Director General, he said such leaks tarnished his son’s legacy and caused “grave mental anguish.”

“These innuendos have deeply damaged Captain Sabharwal’s reputation, which is protected under Article 21 of the Constitution,” he wrote, adding that the official report “ignored critical facts and offered unwarranted exonerations to the aircraft manufacturer.”

Pushkaraj also dismissed claims suggesting his son was under emotional distress. He stated that Captain Sabharwal had over 25 years of spotless flying experience, logging more than 15,600 flight hours, including 8,500 hours on Boeing 787s, and had served as a Line Training Captain for Air India.

Crash Details And Preliminary Findings

The Air India Dreamliner flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, killing all 260 people on board, including 241 passengers and 19 crew members—one of India’s worst aviation disasters in recent years.

The AAIB’s initial report revealed that fuel flow to both engines stopped within seconds of each other, leading to confusion in the cockpit. One pilot was reportedly heard asking, “Why did you cut off?”, to which the other responded, “I didn’t.”

Following public speculation, the AAIB clarified that its findings were preliminary and that no final conclusions about the cause of the crash should be drawn until the full investigation was complete.

Call For Judicial Oversight

Arguing that the absence of a formal investigation under Rule 12 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017 violates due process, the petitioners urged the court to ensure an independent, transparent probe free from bias.

They said that only a judicially monitored inquiry could restore faith in the investigation and uphold the reputation of the pilots and victims who lost their lives in the tragedy.