Don't carry burden on yourself, pilot not to be blamed: Supreme Court to father of Captain Sabharwal killed in Air India plane crash

The Supreme Court on Friday told the 91-year-old father of the pilot who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that his son is not to be blamed for the accident and he should not carry the burden on himself.

"You should not carry burden on yourself. The pilot is not to be blamed for the plane crash. It was an accident. There is no insinuation against him even in the preliminary report," a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said.

The court also issued notice to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on his plea.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the pilot's father, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, said there was a news article in US publication Wall Street Journal with regard to the pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal.

"It was nasty reporting only to blame India," the bench responded.

It read out a paragraph from the preliminary report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) issued on July 12 and said nowhere it is said that the pilot is to be blamed for the accident and it only refers to the conversation between the two pilots of the plane.

"The scope of the AAIB investigation is not to blame but to suggest preventive measures to avoid future tragedies. If necessary, we will clarify that the pilot cannot be blamed," the bench said.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on November 10, along with other pending petitions on the incident.

The June 12 plane crash claimed 260 lives -- 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. Last month, Pushkaraj Sabharwal and the Federation of Indian Pilots moved the Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry headed by a former apex court judge into the plane crash.

The nonagenarian has sought a "fair, transparent and technically robust" investigation into the tragic incident.

With PTI inputs