As the families of Air India Flight 171 victims question whether they buried the correct remains, partner Sarah Stewart tells ITV News how she is assisting their search for answers.
Aviation specialist Sarah, along with her fellow partner Peter Neenan, is representing more than 40 passenger families. Stewarts have written to the Foreign Secretary to raise concerns about the lack of support from the British government.
Sarah says: “The families want an acknowledgement of the shortcomings, apologies and a promise that lessons will be learned so that the response to a crisis involving British citizens abroad is better next time.”
The families expected full support from British consular services, the Foreign Office and British response teams. Instead, they were absent in their darkest hours, when they were at their most vulnerable.
The ITV report focuses on the mounting evidence that some families may have buried the wrong remains. Altaf Taju, who lost both his parents and his brother-in-law in the Air India crash in June 2025, shares his distress and devastation over the mistakes in identification and mixed remains. For many of the families, there is a huge cultural importance in laying their loved ones to rest, and this has been disrupted which has caused further distress.
Peter comments that the families have been left haunted, not knowing who they have buried – their loved ones or someone else’s. He says: “There has been a mishandling of such a sensitive process, which speaks to a wider failure to act with care, sensitivity and respect. The trust they had in the institutions that were meant to protect them has been betrayed.”
Stewarts is asking for a thorough investigation into the crisis response, including the handling of remains, identification procedures and the repatriation process. We are requesting a meeting with the Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, so that she can address the families directly on these issues.
Sarah concludes: “The families want the truth and answers on how the British Foreign Office and Consular Services could get this so catastrophically wrong.”
The full ITV report can be viewed here.
For more information on what advice is available, please click here.
Meet our team
Stewarts’ 13-strong team acting for families of Air India Flight 171 passengers is made up of experts from the UK’s leading claimant Aviation team and our India Practice, joined by leading barristers in their fields. Our team includes Gujarati and Hindi speakers.
The lawyers in our team include:
Sarah Stewart is an English solicitor who has specialised in death and injury aviation claims since 2006. She was previously named by The Times as Lawyer of the Week in recognition of her work representing the families of the Shoreham airshow disaster. Sarah is instructed in complex claimant aviation litigation in the UK and abroad. The leading legal directories describe her as a “brilliant lawyer”, “vastly experienced”, and “a delight to work with”. Sarah is an APIL-accredited fatal accident specialist lawyer.
Peter Neenan is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Illinois attorney described by leading legal directories as “one of the finest aviation lawyers of our generation”, “an aviation law supremo”, and “the first choice for any complex aviation dispute”. Peter has master’s degrees in Theoretical Physics and Advanced Air and Space Law and leads the department’s independent technical investigations.
Sherina Petit leads the India Practice at Stewarts. She has extensive experience in dispute resolution and international arbitration, with a focus on India-related disputes. She has practised across multiple jurisdictions, including as an advocate in India (Mumbai) before qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales.
Rebecca Smith is a legal director within the Aviation team. Rebecca has practised in the personal injury field for over 25 years and has specialised in aviation litigation for the past 10 years. She is described by the leading legal directories as “an outstanding lawyer with talent, tenacity and charm”.
Nosherwan Vakil serves as in-house counsel as part of the case team. He is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati, qualified in India and England and Wales and has more than 15 years’ experience. He regularly litigates international disputes in Indian courts and international tribunals.
Philip Shepherd KC acts as counsel for all liability issues. Philip has been recognised as a leading silk for over two decades and is widely acknowledged to have the most in-depth experience of aviation litigation of any barrister in practice. He has appeared as leading counsel in many of the aviation cases and arbitrations of significance of the past 20 years.
Gerard Forlin KC acts as counsel for inquest-related matters. Gerard has been involved in many of the most significant public inquiries and inquests of the past 30 years, including the Grenfell Tower enquiry and the Shoreham air crash inquests.
The team is supported by multiple associates, trainees and paralegals.
Get in touch
Families who require legal assistance can contact Stewarts at flight171@stewartslaw.com in English, Gujarati or Hindi.
You can also get in touch with us via WhatsApp – Send us a WhatsApp message.
Any families affected can also directly contact
Sarah Stewart at sstewart@stewartslaw.com or
Peter Neenan at pneenan@stewartslaw.com, and we would be happy to meet you individually or in one of our group meetings.
