The Indian government provided the Supreme Court with a fresh update on the Air India plane crash on Thursday — reiterating that “no blame was being attributed to anyone”. The apex court is hearing a clutch of petitions pertaining to the devastating accident that killed 260 people and injured numerous others in June. The father of one of the deceased pilots had approached the SC contending that the preliminary inquiry report was trying to implicate the pilots.
“I understand the feelings of the father. No blame is attributed to anyone. As a matter of fact, after the interim report, which is mandatory within one month, as per international standards, since there was some misconception, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a press note that there is no blame attributable to anyone,” said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The clarification came after the Supreme Court noted that the Accident Investigation Bureau probe was intended to clarify the cause and suggest improvements to avoid such accidents — rather than apportioning blame. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant also noted that a supplemental Central government investigation could delve into the question of responsibility.
“Our apprehension is the regime (on the kind of inquiry that should be done after a plane crash) that Mehta has mentioned has not been followed. That’s the problem. In fact, that must be followed,” countered Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan while appearing for the pilot’s father.
The court also directed the government to file a counter-affidavit in response to all the petitions in the matter.
