Overview
- The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, which ruled Wednesday, dismissed the challenge to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report and refused to treat the plea as a representation.
- The petitioner had appealed a February 25 Delhi High Court order that rejected a public interest plea to add a complete sequence of events and technical timelines to the preliminary findings.
- The High Court had called the PIL highly misconceived and told the petitioner to seek any data through the Right to Information Act, with release only if permitted by law.
- The petitioner sought insertion of a time chart for engine flameouts and fuel‑switch transitions, and the top court questioned his motive, noting that families of those who died had not brought such claims.
- The case stems from the June 12, 2025 crash of Air India flight AI 171 near Ahmedabad, which killed 241 of 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, and the ruling leaves the AAIB’s preliminary conclusions unchanged while further details must be pursued through statutory channels.