NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that called for a committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to independently examine Air India’s safety and maintenance standards.The petition, filed last month after crash sought a comprehensive safety audit of Air India’s fleet by an international aviation safety agency accredited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).The Air India Flight 171 was crashed on June 12. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying from Ahmedabad to London, went down shortly after take-off, crashing into a medical hostel complex near the airport. Out of 241 people on board, only one passenger survived. This was the first fatal crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.During the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned why the plea only focused on Air India.“Why just Air India? Why not other airlines?” the bench asked, declining to admit the plea.The court was critical of the petitioner for targeting only one airline, saying, “It was a very unfortunate incident. But just because a tragedy happened, should you target a single airline? Are there no safety issues with other airlines?”“Don’t give an impression that you are serving the cause of a rival private airline,” the bench added.The court advised the petitioner to raise safety concerns with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) or the Union government first.“If you want to ensure safety, then approach the DGCA or Union govt and make all airlines, domestic and international, subject to scrutiny. If the authorities do not do anything, then only we will intervene,” the top court said.
