India, Sept. 22 -- The Supreme Court on Monday sought replies from the Union government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on how they propose to ensure a "free, fair, impartial and expeditious" investigation into the London-bound Air India plane crash in Gujarat on June 12, and the need for a court-monitored probe by an independent investigator.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh issued notices to the Centre and DGCA, seeking their responses in two weeks on a petition moved by Safety Matters Foundation. It described as "unfortunate" the public release of a preliminary report by the DGCA that implied one of the pilots could be at fault for moving the fuel control switches from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" seconds...