Pilot not to be blamed, don't carry burden on yourself: SC to father of AI-171 pilot killed in crash
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New Delhi (PTI) 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.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on his plea.
"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," the bench said.
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.
"An incomplete and prejudiced inquiry, without identification of the exact cause of the accident, endangers the lives of future passengers and undermines aviation safety at large, causing a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution," his plea said.
The petition, filed through AP&J Chambers on October 10, made Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA and AAIB respondents.
The plea seeks directions for the constitution of an independent committee, also comprising aviation and technical experts, to probe the crash.
The ill-fated aircraft had taken off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick but crashed within minutes, impacting the BJ Medical College hostel located less than a nautical mile from the end of the runway.
The Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) failed to activate, and both the pilot-in-command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder lost their lives in the crash, the plea said.
New Delhi, Nov 7 (PTI) 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.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Centre and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on his plea.
"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," the bench said.
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.
"An incomplete and prejudiced inquiry, without identification of the exact cause of the accident, endangers the lives of future passengers and undermines aviation safety at large, causing a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution," his plea said.
The petition, filed through AP&J Chambers on October 10, made Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, DGCA and AAIB respondents.
The plea seeks directions for the constitution of an independent committee, also comprising aviation and technical experts, to probe the crash.
The ill-fated aircraft had taken off from Ahmedabad for London Gatwick but crashed within minutes, impacting the BJ Medical College hostel located less than a nautical mile from the end of the runway.
The Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) failed to activate, and both the pilot-in-command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder lost their lives in the crash, the plea said.
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T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
