Disha Salian's father sends Rs 500 crore defamation notice to Aaditya Thackeray, Anil Deshmukh

New Delhi: Satish Salian, father of late Disha Salian, former manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has sent a defamation notice seeking Rs 500 crore in compensation from Shiv Sena(UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh.

The notice objects to certain statements made by the two leaders. Satish Salian has demanded an apology, retraction of the statements and compensation of Rs 500 crore. The two have been given seven days to comply with the demands.

Disha Salian, 28, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from a high-rise residential building in Mumbai's Malad area. The police treated the incident as an accidental death and registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). Six days later, actor Sushant Singh Rajput died.

Disha's father, who had initially said that he did not suspect a criminal angle, approached the Bombay High Court seeking registration of an FIR and a fresh investigation. The petition sought an investigation into allegations involving several individuals, including Aaditya Thackeray, Dino Morea and Sooraj Pancholi.

Six years later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe.

The Rs 500 crore legal notice accuses Aaditya Thackeray of questioning Satish Salian's motives and attempting to portray his pursuit of justice as “politically motivated, malicious, and actuated by an ulterior object” aimed at damaging his reputation.

“The aforesaid allegations are false, baseless, reckless and grossly defamatory, having been made without any credible material or proof and solely with a view to further your ulterior and improper motives. The said allegations amount to a direct and serious imputation upon the integrity, credibility, honesty and bona fides of my client (Satish Salian), by portraying a bereaved father, who was merely seeking a lawful investigation into the alleged gang rape and murder of his daughter, as a person abusing the judicial process for an improper, malicious and politically motivated purpose,” the legal notice reads.

The notice also accuses Thackeray of “falsely representing that the CBI had already investigated the Disha Salian case” and given him a “clean chit”.

“More seriously, a categorical representation was made on your behalf that the CBI had already investigated the Disha Salian case and had given you a ‘clean chit’. This alleged prior investigation was relied upon to oppose my client's prayer for an independent CBI investigation and to further portray his proceedings as unnecessary, frivolous and motivated,” the notice states.

According to the notice, Thackeray allegedly claimed that Satish Salian was being “used as a tool to harass” him, a claim that Deshmukh allegedly supported.

The notice states that on March 23, 2025, Deshmukh said that the Disha Salian case was a “conspiracy to defame Aaditya Thackeray”. It further alleges that the statement received “widespread publicity” and portrayed Satish Salian as a “dishonest, politically motivated and malicious litigant misusing the criminal justice system”.

Satish Salian has demanded an “unconditional, unequivocal and unqualified written and public apology”. He has sought that the apology be published and broadcast across major print, television and digital media platforms. The notice also demands that the video apology be at least three minutes long and be posted on the two leaders' official social media accounts.

Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday denied having any link with Disha Salian, two days after the CBI named him in its FIR in the case.

“I have never met Disha Salian, nor did I have any acquaintance with her,” Thackeray said in a post on X, adding that he wanted to “cut through the noise and talk facts, once again”.

He further said, “Linking my name to this tragic case constantly is a deliberate, evidence-free attempt at character assassination by a few individuals with clear political and personal motives, for almost 6 years.”

Thackeray did not name anyone in the post. However, he has previously accused the ruling BJP-led alliance of dragging his name into the matter. Others named in the FIR have also denied any role.

“Let the official re-investigation proceed without malicious distractions and character assassination for political motives,” Thackeray added.

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