Ajit Pawar death: PIL in Bombay High Court seeks court‑monitored probe into plane crash

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a court‑monitored probe into the Learjet crash at Baramati on January 28 that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and five others. [Ketan Tirodkar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors]

Social activist Ketan Tirodkar has sought directions to the State Criminal Investigation Division (CID) for an investigation into the ‘accidental death’ of the Deputy CM.

Along with this, he has sought for constitution of a judicial commission headed by a retired Bombay High Court judge, along with aviation experts including a retired DGCA Director and a chief maintenance engineer from a commercial airline.

In his petition, Tirodkar says he wrote to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on February 20 requesting for a CID probe into the crash.

He has also filed a series of Right to Information (RTI) applications with the DGCA, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Chief Minister’s Office and Baramati police, seeking details ranging from booking of the flight to black box analysis and regulatory permissions for the aircraft.

Tirodkar claims he was compelled to approach the High Court after he received no response to either of the communications.

His PIL flags several issues including the alleged last-minute switch from road travel to a flight. He also questions the replacement of two originally deputed pilots, reportedly due to a traffic jam. 

The petition refers to repeated landing requests for different runways at Baramati and raises doubts over whether the Learjet was duly registered in India or was operating on a US-registered number.

The petition cites public statements and press conferences by MLA Rohit Pawar, nephew of late Ajit Pawar, who alleged irregularities in the aircraft’s operations and also shared purported chats between airline staff, pilots and politicians.

The petition is yet to be listed for hearing.