The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the Mumbai Police over the prolonged inquiry into the 2020 death of former celebrity manager Disha Salian, expressing concern that the investigation remained inconclusive even after five years.
A division bench of Justices A. S. Gadkari and Ranjithsinha Bhonsale noted that the police needed only to determine whether Salian’s death amounted to suicide or culpable homicide. The bench remarked, “Why still inquiry? It has been five years. Someone has died. You just have to ascertain if it was a suicide or culpable homicide.”
The court was hearing a petition filed in March by Satish Salian, Disha’s father, who claimed that his daughter had been gang-raped and murdered. He alleged that the police were avoiding registering an FIR by “hiding behind the garb” of an inquiry.
Representing the state, public prosecutor Mankhunwar Deshmukh informed the bench that the inquiry remained ongoing and said the police were examining every angle carefully. She added that officers had recorded the statements of both Satish Salian and his wife three times, noting, “Initially they said no allegations against anyone... In 2025, they raised this contention and made allegations...”
The bench sought to know as to why the statements were recorded again and again of the same witnesses (Disha's parents). To which, Deshmukh responded that the police recorded their supplementary statements.
However, Satish Salian’s lawyer, Nilesh Ojha, argued that the police had not provided copies of the statements recorded during the inquiry, including his client’s own statement.
The bench responded sharply, asking, “What is the difficulty in giving basic documents to the father? He is covered by section 2(W)(a) of the CrPC, which defines ‘victim.’ What is this difficulty? Please take instructions on this.” The court also directed the police to produce the post-mortem report.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after allegedly falling from the 14th floor of a Mumbai residential building. Police had initially registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). Salian was actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s manager and died two days before his death on June 14, 2020.
Satish Salian has sought a CBI probe and registration of an FIR against former Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, alleging that his daughter died under “mysterious circumstances” and was a victim of sexual assault and murder as part of a politically motivated cover-up.
Thackeray has filed an intervention application, calling the allegations “false, frivolous and motivated” and seeking a hearing before any order is passed.
In December 2023, the Maharashtra government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. The SIT has yet to submit its report. The bench will hear the matter further on December 11.
