Aaditya Thackeray threw the legal gauntlet back on Wednesday. The Worli MLA’s lawyer, Anshuman Sinha, filed a reply to the Rs 500 crore defamation notice sent by Satish Salian on September 17.
"My client's posts addressed the sustained campaign by political actors, vested interests and sections of the media that have repeatedly linked his name with this tragic case without placing verified evidence in the two SIT investigations," the reply stated. Thackeray’s team argued that his social media posts never mentioned Satish Salian by name.
The core of the dispute remains Thackeray’s claim that he never met or knew Disha Salian.
"Let the official re-investigation proceed," the legal reply asserted. Thackeray’s side pointed to inconsistencies in Salian’s statements made immediately after his daughter’s death in 2020 versus his later claims. No apology or compensation, they argued, was warranted.
Disha Salian, 28, died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 12th floor of a building in Mumbai’s Malad area.
Her death came one week after Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment. While Mumbai police initially ruled it a suicide, the CBI recently registered an FIR following a Bombay High Court order. The court explicitly instructed the CBI not to name anyone as an accused during the probe.
The CBI’s independent investigation is now the central battleground.
Salian’s legal team will likely appeal the dismissal or seek further civil remedies, while Thackeray’s camp waits for the CBI’s findings to validate their stance that political actors are exploiting the tragedy for personal gain.