Aaditya Thackeray Rejects Rs 500-Crore Defamation Notice in Disha Salian Case

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has rejected a Rs 500-crore defamation notice served by Satish Salian, father of talent manager Disha Salian, who died in 2020 after a fall from a residential building in Mumbai. In a 25-page reply containing 69 points, Thackeray denied "every allegation, assertion, insinuation, interpretation, demand and claim" raised in the notice dated September 17.

The notice alleged that two posts published from the @AUThackeray account on September 16 — one in English and one in Marathi — defamed Satish Salian. Thackeray's reply, sent through his counsel Anshuman Sinha to Salian's lawyer Anushka Sonawane, stated that the posts do not name Satish Salian in any manner and that the notice failed to identify any specific sentence, expression or imputation directed at him. It argued that the notice sought to build an impression by combining the posts with the complaint, writ proceedings, media reports and surrounding political events.

Thackeray said he stands by the central line of his post: "Let's cut through the noise and talk facts, once again: I have never met or known Disha Salian." The reply also cited another line, "Let the official re-investigation proceed." It questioned Satish Salian's shifting positions over time, noting that his public statements immediately after his daughter's death and at later stages "appear materially inconsistent". It added that Thackeray would not engage in a personal exchange with a bereaved father or speculate about the reasons for the change in position.

Thackeray made clear he will not delete the posts, apologise or pay any compensation, maintaining that he was being connected to the case without any evidence. The reply rejected each of the notice's demands, which included removing both X posts, publishing an apology pinned for at least 90 days in English and Marathi, issuing correction requests to media outlets, and disclosing social media account analytics and communications. It termed the Rs 500-crore demand "frivolous", "arbitrary", "speculative" and "intimidatory".

Disha Salian, 28, a former manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died after falling from a building in Malad on June 8, 2020. The case was initially treated as an accidental death or suicide, with no connection to Rajput's death by suicide a week later. Recently, however, a murder case was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation on court orders, following a petition by Satish Salian. The FIR named Aaditya Thackeray and his father Uddhav Thackeray, who was chief minister of Maharashtra at the time, as persons who needed to be probed for their actions or dereliction in dealing with the case.

In his reply, Thackeray cited a complaint Satish Salian made to the President of India on March 25, 2022, and a 2022 FIR registered by Disha Salian's mother at Malvani police station, which referred to Disha having been in depression "on account of certain financial losses". On the recent Bombay High Court proceedings that ordered registration of an FIR and a CBI investigation, the reply said there was "no adverse finding" against anyone and that "nobody shall be treated as an accused".

On the same day, Satish Salian reiterated that he would share "evidence" with the CBI. His lawyer Nilesh Ojha said a CBI officer from Delhi had reached the agency's Mumbai office, where Salian would formally hand over a pen drive containing evidence. Ojha said the material includes the video-recorded testimony of an eyewitness who claims to have seen Thackeray and others at the scene and alleges their involvement in the crime. The alleged contents have not been independently verified. Ojha added that Salian has sought immediate action, including arrest, against Thackeray, former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh and other police officers and witnesses.