 "Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, The Air India pilot, who died in last week’s Flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad, was brought back to his home in Mumbai’s Powai on Tuesday morning for his final rites. Image courtesy: PTI, X")
The Supreme Court on Friday (November 7, 2025) assured the father of late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal — the pilot of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad in June, killing 260 people — that “nobody in the country believes it was the pilot’s fault.”
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the remark while hearing a plea filed by 91-year-old Pushkar Sabharwal, who has sought an independent, technically sound probe into the crash, monitored by a retired Supreme Court judge.
‘You should not carry this burden’
Expressing sympathy, the Bench told the grieving father that his son was not being blamed for the tragedy.
“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 for anything,” Justice Surya Kant said.
Justice Bagchi added, “There is no insinuation against the pilot so far. The investigation report merely records the communication between the two pilots; it does not apportion blame.”
Plea seeks independent probe
Represented by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, the petitioner argued that only a preliminary probe under Rule 9 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules had been conducted, while a full-fledged investigation under Rule 11 was required.
He also cited a Wall Street Journal report that, he claimed, relied on unnamed Indian sources to suggest pilot error.
In response, Justice Bagchi said, “Then your suit should have been against the Wall Street Journal. Any insinuation in the press needs to be dealt with in the proper forum, not through a writ petition.”
Court seeks replies from Centre, DGCA
The Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and other authorities, seeking their responses on the plea.
“Whatever may be the cause of the tragedy, the pilot is not the cause,” Justice Surya Kant reiterated. The matter will be heard next on November 10.