Satish Salian to Submit Evidence to CBI as Thackeray Rejects Defamation Notice

Satish Salian, father of Disha Salian, will visit the Central Bureau of Investigation's Mumbai office after 2 pm on Thursday, accompanied by his lawyer, to hand over evidence connected to his daughter's case. He is also expected to press for the officials concerned to be summoned for questioning without delay and for strict action against anyone found responsible.

The visit comes against the backdrop of an ongoing legal confrontation between Salian and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. On Thursday, Thackeray filed a formal legal response rejecting the Rs 500-crore defamation notice served on him by Salian, denying the allegations and declining to apologise, withdraw his social media posts or pay any compensation.

In the reply, Thackeray's counsel contended that the posts in question, published on X on September 16, neither named nor referred to Satish Salian. The response argued that the notice failed to point to any specific sentence or expression that expressly referred to him, and that it did not establish from the text itself that the remarks were directed at him.

The legal reply further maintained that comments about a prolonged political and media campaign cannot be turned into actionable defamation simply by attaching an individual's name to them. It said the alleged imputation was being assembled by combining the posts with the complaint, writ proceedings, media reports and surrounding political events, and that such external material cannot be used to rewrite the publication or create a defamatory meaning absent from its wording. Thackeray, the response added, has denied every allegation and claim in the notice as false, misconceived and legally unsustainable.

Earlier, on September 19, Advocate Nilesh Ojha, appearing for Satish Salian, said a legal notice seeking an apology and Rs 500 crore in compensation had been sent to Thackeray. Ojha said a junior lawyer was serving the notice at the time, and that the step was taken to demonstrate that the notice was being delivered directly despite any threats. He added that everyone is equal under the Constitution.

Disha Salian was found dead in Mumbai on June 8, 2020, and her death was initially recorded as an Accidental Death Report. She died days before actor Sushant Singh Rajput, whose death also triggered a high-profile investigation and widespread public controversy.