In a detailed 25-page reply, Thackeray argued that neither his English nor Marathi social media posts mentioned in the notice named or identified Satish Salian

Published on: Sep 24, 2026, 07:53:30 IST

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Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray has refused to apologise or pay ₹500 crore in damages to Satish Salian, father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian, rejecting the defamation notice served on him as “frivolous”, “arbitrary” and “legally untenable”.

In a detailed 25-page reply sent through advocate Anshuman Sinha, Thackeray argued that neither his English nor Marathi social media posts mentioned in the notice named or identified Satish Salian and, therefore, could not constitute a defamatory imputation against him. He also maintained that the posts were in response to what he described as a “prolonged political and media campaign” linking him to Disha’s death.

The development comes amid a fresh CBI investigation into Disha Salian’s death, over six years after she fell from the 12th floor of a building in Malad in June 2020. The Bombay High Court ordered the CBI probe on September 2 after finding that the earlier police inquiry was inadequate and that the circumstances warranted a substantive investigation.

The defamation notice was triggered by two social media posts put out by Thackeray on September 16, in which he rejected attempts to link him to Disha’s death. Three days later, Satish Salian personally served a ₹500-crore defamation notice at Thackeray’s residence, Matoshree, alleging that the posts portrayed his efforts to seek a fresh investigation into his daughter’s death as politically motivated, fraudulent and driven by personal enmity.

Disha, who had worked as manager to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died six days before Rajput’s death by suicide on June 14, 2020. The proximity of the two deaths triggered widespread speculation about a possible connection and intense political and media scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding Disha’s death.

The Mumbai Police initially registered an accidental death report and subsequently concluded that Disha had died by suicide, finding no evidence of foul play. The case was later reopened for further inquiry in December 2023, but that investigation, completed in April 2026, reached the same conclusion.

However, Satish Salian later alleged that his daughter had been gang-raped and murdered, and that her death had been covered up to protect powerful people, including Aaditya Thackeray.

Thackeray has consistently denied knowing or having met Disha and has rejected allegations linking him to her death. In one of the posts cited in the notice, he described repeated attempts to associate his name with the case as an “evidence-free attempt at character assassination” driven by political and personal motives.

In his reply to the notice, Thackeray said he stood by both the English and Marathi posts and refused to withdraw them, apologise or pay compensation. He added that the posts called for an official re-investigation and did not seek to obstruct or influence the CBI probe. Thackeray has asked Salian to withdraw the legal notice within seven days.

The reply further points out that the high court’s order directing a CBI investigation contained no adverse finding against Thackeray or any other individual. It also highlighted the court’s direction that nobody should be treated as an accused unless the investigating officer finds sufficient grounds, based on material collected during the probe, to raise reasonable suspicion.

Thackeray argued that the fact that an investigation is underway cannot itself be treated as evidence of involvement or guilt. The reply also disputes Salian’s assertion that his position has remained consistent, citing what Thackeray’s lawyers describe as differences in his statements at various stages of the proceedings.

“Thackeray will not engage in a personal exchange with a bereaved father, and the investigation should determine the facts,” the reply said.

It also rejected the ₹500-crore compensation demand as arbitrary and speculative, arguing that the notice had identified neither any specific actionable defamatory statement nor any calculation or loss supporting the amount.

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