Satish Salian sues Thackeray for Rs 500 crore, seeks apology
Satish Salian, the father of dead celebrity manager, Disha Salian, has filed a defamation claim worth Rs 500 crore against Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and former home minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh, for their comments on him.
The notice requires both leaders to withdraw their statements, publish an unconditional written and public apology and pay Rs 500 crore as compensation. The notice gives them an ultimatum of seven days to comply, and the apology, if issued, must be released through major print, television and digital media.
The notice says Thackeray regarded Salian’s call for an inquiry into his daughter’s death as politically motivated, malicious and aimed at damaging his reputation. It also adds that statements made on Thackeray’s behalf asserted that Salian was being used to harass him. The notice calls these allegations defamatory, adding that they cast doubt on the integrity of a father who is seeking a proper investigation into the death of his daughter.
The notice also mentions a statement that Deshmukh made on March 23, 2025, in which he called the Disha Salian case a conspiracy aimed at defaming Aaditya Thackeray. Salian’s lawyers claim that the remark attracted extensive publicity and presented her as a litigant acting out of political motivation. This notice follows the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) filing of a first information report (FIR) last week, after the Bombay High Court directed a comprehensive investigation. Disha, the former manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died on June 8, 2020, when she fell from a residential building in Malad, Mumbai.
The police at first regarded the case as one of accidental death. Satish later claimed that his daughter had been gang-raped and killed and that the first investigation had been inadequate. These allegations are currently under investigation. The CBI’s FIR, based on Salian’s statement, lists several people. Among them are Aaditya Thackeray, the former CM Uddhav Thackeray, actors Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi and Rhea Chakraborty, as well as former police officers and others.
Thackeray has denied ever knowing or meeting her. In a statement issued this week, he claimed that he had no knowledge of her and that the efforts made over the past six years to associate him with her death were part of a false campaign motivated by political considerations and personal ill will. He added that no evidence showed any connection between him and the incident and asked the CBI to proceed without interference or exposure to character attacks.
