The Disha Salian death case has taken another legal turn with her father, Satish Salian, seeking Rs 500 crore in damages from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh.
The legal notice relates to statements allegedly made by the two politicians concerning Satish Salian’s efforts to seek a fresh investigation into his daughter’s death. According to reports, the notice claims that the statements portrayed the grieving father’s pursuit of justice as politically motivated and malicious.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, in Mumbai. She was 28 years old. Police initially registered an Accidental Death Report after she fell from a residential building in Malad. Her death became widely discussed after Sushant Singh Rajput, for whom she had worked as a manager, died six days later.
Although the two deaths were repeatedly discussed together in public debate, official investigations into the incidents have followed their own legal paths. The latest development concerns the CBI investigation into Salian’s death.
Satish Salian had previously approached the Bombay High Court, seeking a fresh investigation and registration of an FIR. His petition raised allegations concerning several individuals and sought examination of the circumstances surrounding his daughter’s death.
The matter changed significantly in September 2026 when the CBI registered an FIR. Reports say the agency began examining the case after directions from the Bombay High Court. The FIR reportedly contains the names of several people whose roles are to be investigated.
The legal notice issued by Satish Salian’s side focuses on statements made about his motives. It alleges that Aaditya Thackeray questioned the purpose behind his legal campaign and suggested that he was being used to target Thackeray. The notice also refers to statements attributed to Anil Deshmukh, who reportedly described the matter as a conspiracy to defame Thackeray.
Satish Salian’s legal representatives have disputed these assertions and argued that his client was simply seeking a lawful investigation into his daughter’s death. The notice therefore seeks both monetary damages and a public apology.
According to reports, the demanded apology would need to be unconditional and public. The notice also reportedly asks for the apology to appear on major media platforms and the politicians’ social-media accounts.
Aaditya Thackeray has responded publicly to the renewed controversy. He said he had never met Disha Salian and had no acquaintance with her. He also denied any connection to the circumstances surrounding her death.
Thackeray argued that his name had been linked to the case repeatedly over the years despite, according to him, the absence of evidence connecting him to Salian. He called for the official investigation to continue without political interference.
The latest legal action should be understood separately from the criminal investigation. A defamation notice is a demand made before potential court proceedings and does not itself establish that the allegations contained in it are proven.
Similarly, the CBI FIR marks the beginning or continuation of an investigation into allegations. Individuals named in an FIR are not automatically guilty of the offences being investigated.
The developments have nevertheless placed the Disha Salian case back into national attention. With the CBI investigation underway and the Rs 500 crore legal notice now issued, the coming legal proceedings could determine how the competing claims are examined through formal processes.