• Source:JND
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Air India Crash: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the "selective leak" of the preliminary inquiry report in the Air India Flight AI 171 crash in June this year. The top court remarked that the reports stating the pilots deliberately shut off fuel, encouraged a media narrative. Justice Surya Kant described such claims as "unfortunate and irresponsible".

Air India flight AI 171 en route to London Gatwick, crashed soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 passengers onboard and another 19 on the ground. 

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a PIL seeking an independent, Court-monitored investigation into the crash.

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The Supreme Court stressed that till the enquiry is complete, it is essential to maintain absolute confidentiality.

"Instead of piecemeal leaking of information, somebody should maintain confidentiality till regular inquiry is taken to logical conclusion," Justice Kant said, as per LiveLaw.

The remark came after senior advocate Prashant Bhushan highlighted how a Wall Street Journal article, citing sources, claimed that the pilots were being blamed for the crash. He added that the report was published before the official report was submitted to the government.

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He further informed the top court that a narrative that pilots deliberately shut off fuel supply was doing rounds even when the pilots were highly experienced.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court issued notice to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation for "free, fair, impartial, expeditious and independent investigation by an expert body."

Earlier, the father of one of the pilots had demanded a formal investigation by the central government. Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, had raised concerns over the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) report, claiming it has damaged his son’s reputation.