Black box secured, AAIB probe underway as Centre responds to Fadnavis on Ajit Pawar Learjet crash

The Union government on Thursday confirmed that the black box of the ill-fated Learjet 45 aircraft involved in the deadly Baramati crash has been recovered and secured, as it formally responded to a letter from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking details of the incident that claimed the life of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others.

New rules on animal testing must take India forward, not backwards: Maneka Gandhi Officials maintain the changes seek to simplify approvals for research institutions, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Updated on: Oct 26, 2026, 14:54:47 IST By Jasjeev Gandhiok Prefer HTPrefer HT Prefer HT on Google Share The Centre’s draft rules governing animal experimentation have triggered concerns among animal rights groups, which say the changes could weaken independent oversight and make it easier for laboratories to conduct experiments on animals. However, officials maintain the changes seek to simplify approvals for research institutions, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi. HT speaks to animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi, a long-time campaigner against animal experimentation. Edited excerpts: A major change to animal experimentation, proposed in the draft, is that mild and moderate experiments could be approved by an institution’s own ethics committee rather than going to the central regulator. In practical terms, what does this change mean for an animal inside a laboratory? Does it make it easier for more animals to be experimented on? It means the animal loses the one independent pair of eyes that was looking at its fate. Today, experiments on animals larger than a rat go to the central regulator, and there is at least someone outside the building asking whether this experiment is necessary at all. Under the draft, the people who want to do the experiment, their colleagues and their department heads will be the ones approving it. And it is the institution itself, through its own veterinarian, that decides whether the experiment is mild or moderate in the first place. No institution has ever turned down its own funding. So yes, it will make it easier, and it will make it faster, and that means more animals. Mild and moderate are also the bulk of experiments, so we are effectively handing over most of animal experimentation in India to self regulation. The draft classifies experiments as mild, moderate, severe and non-recovery. Is there a concern that the institution conducting the research will effectively decide how severe the experiment is. Does this leave a grey area? It isn’t grey, it is completely black. Under this draft, the institution that wants to do the experiment is also the one that decides which category it falls into. That decision matters enormously, because if the experiment is classified as mild or moderate, the institution’s own committee approves it and it never goes to the central regulator. Only severe and non-recovery experiments on larger animals go outside. So the same people who want the experiment approved are deciding whether anyone independent will ever examine it. That is a clear conflict of interest, and it will push experiments towards the lower categories. Starving a rat for a day is called mild. Keeping a social animal alone in a cage is mild. Starving it for two days, or putting it through distress it cannot escape, is moderate. So is testing herbal products, testing established drugs, and anything described as having “known and reversible effects,” which could mean almost anything. This is not a scientific list. It is the most common commercial work. The draft also creates exceptions and allows laboratories to use animals from open markets, unregistered sources, and in certain circumstances, stray, feral, wild and protected animals. What is the biggest risk that this may create for animals in practice? Could community dogs, lost pets or animals taken from the wild find their way into laboratories? The biggest risk is that nobody will know where an animal came from. The whole point of registered breeders was traceability. Once you allow open markets and unregistered sources for cattle, goats, birds and fish, you create a demand, and in this country demand is met very quickly by people who will pick up anything. Strays and wild animals can be used if a “competent authority” permits it, and the draft never says who that is. Community dogs, someone’s lost pet, birds from illegal markets, all of it can find its way into a laboratory. These exceptions should be removed completely. If a lab cannot get an animal from a registered source, it should not be doing that experiment. The draft formally incorporates the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, but critics say these safeguards become weaker if institutions themselves are approving experiments. Do you believe India should now be moving towards replacing animal experiments altogether, particularly when the health ministry has already allowed certain drug testing through non-animal methods? What should the rules do differently? Yes, and we are not starting from zero. The health ministry has already amended the drug rules to accept non-animal methods. The world is moving this way because these methods are often more predictive for humans than a mouse ever was. Writing replacement, reduction and refinement into the rules means nothing if the person checking compliance is the institution itself. The rules should make it mandatory to show that no validated alternative exists before an animal is used, set up a national body to validate and promote alternatives, put money into them, and set timelines to phase out animal use in areas where alternatives are already available. A rule that only mentions replacement as a principle is decoration. You have worked on animal experimentation regulation for decades. What specific changes would you want the government to make to this draft? I don’t think this draft can be fixed. There is hardly a provision in it that doesn’t need changing, and when everything needs to change, it is better to start again. So the draft should be put aside and written afresh, this time with independent scientists, animal welfare organisations and legal experts at the table. The new rules must take India forward, not backwards. Animals already have certain protections under the law which cannot be taken away. New should be building on them.

Orissa High Court Rules SC/ST Status Cannot Be Carried Across State Borders

Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Response to Challenge Against Chhattisgarh Anti-Conversion Law

In its reply, the civil aviation ministry said that a detailed technical investigation is now underway, with all operational records, aircraft systems data, and evidence from the crash site being examined to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the tragedy. The ministry assured the Maharashtra government that the probe would be conducted in a “thorough, transparent and time-bound manner.”

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), India’s apex body for probing civil aviation accidents, has launched a formal investigation into the crash. Officials said the findings of the inquiry, along with recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future, will be shared with the state government once the investigation reaches a conclusive stage. The ministry also acknowledged Fadnavis’s request for systemic safety measures to avoid recurrence of such accidents.

Ajit Pawar, his security officer Vidip Jadhav, pilot-in-command Captain Sumit Kapur, first officer Captain Shambhavi Pathak, and flight attendant Pinky Mali were killed when the Learjet 45 crashed while attempting to land at Baramati airport on Wednesday morning. Funeral rites for the Maharashtra deputy chief minister were conducted on Thursday amid an outpouring of grief across the state.

According to preliminary details released by the civil aviation ministry, the aircraft attempted to land twice at Baramati, which is classified as an “uncontrolled” airport. Such airports do not have full-fledged air traffic control operations. Instead, ATC duties are handled by pilot cadets from local flying schools on alternate days, as per earlier reports.

In recorded communication between the flight crew and air traffic control, the pilots initially reported that the runway was not in sight. Moments later, they confirmed visual contact with the runway and were granted clearance to land at 8:43 am. However, within a minute of the clearance, ATC personnel reportedly saw the aircraft engulfed in flames.

A key focus of the investigation will be data retrieved from the black box, formally known as the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. Aviation experts say the device is crucial for understanding parameters such as aircraft speed, altitude, engine performance, pilot inputs, and cockpit conversations in the final moments before a crash.

The civil aviation ministry reiterated that the AAIB’s findings will be made available after due analysis, underscoring that aviation safety remains a top priority. As the probe continues, authorities are also expected to review operational protocols at smaller and uncontrolled airports like Baramati, particularly during adverse visibility or challenging landing conditions.