Overview

• The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking an independent, court‑monitored investigation into the June 12 crash of Air India Flight AI171.
• Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh called the selective leak of preliminary findings "unfortunate" and criticized media reports blaming the pilots as irresponsible.
• The Court said it is not advisable to release flight‑recorder data at this stage and emphasized maintaining confidentiality until the inquiry is complete.
• The petition by Safety Matters Foundation challenges the AAIB preliminary report’s reference to fuel‑control switches moving to cutoff, alleges withholding of DFDR, full CVR transcripts, and EAFR data, and raises a conflict‑of‑interest concern over DGCA officers on the probe team.
• The crash occurred shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, and the Court’s notice covers the limited prayer for a free, fair, impartial and expeditious investigation by an expert body.