Supreme Court junks PIL seeking safety audit of Air India fleet

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking to appoint a retired top court judge to examine Air India’s safety practices as it wondered why the petitioner targeted the airline that suffered an “unfortunate tragedy”.

”Don’t give the impression that you are playing with other airlines. Why target Air India only which recently witnessed an unfortunate tragedy? If you want some regulatory mechanism in place, then why did you not make other airlines as party in your petition? Why only Air India?” a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant asked petitioner Narendera Kumar Goswami.

The Bench—which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi – asked Goswami – a lawyer who claimed to be a victim of “some unfortunate incident” with the airline  -- to withdraw his PIL and go to an appropriate forum with his grievances.

”We also travel every week and know what the status is. There was a tragedy, a very unfortunate one. This is not a time to run down an airline,” Justice Kant told Goswami.

The petitioner sought directions for constituting an independent committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to examine Air India’s safety practices, maintenance procedures, and operational protocols, with a report to be submitted within three months.

He also wanted a direction for a comprehensive safety audit of Air India’s entire fleet by an international aviation safety agency accredited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), addressing deficiencies identified in the 2024 ICAO audit report, to be completed within six months.

Additionally, Directorate General of Civil Aviation was sought to be directed to implement and enforce a transparent, publicly accessible reporting system for all aviation safety incidents, including a centralized database, ensuring compliance with the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and international best practices.

The PIL further sought a direction to Air India to provide compensation to the families of AI-171 crash victims in accordance with the Montreal Convention, 1999, and to offer ex-gratia payments or compensation to passengers of AI-143 for distress and inconvenience caused by the safety incident, as per applicable laws and industry standards.