The Bombay High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR and conduct a thorough probe into the death of Disha Salian, who was found dead in June 2020, days before actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence.
A division bench of Justices Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande had earlier raised concerns over the registration of only an Accidental Death Report (ADR), rather than an FIR, despite allegations by Salian's family that she had been murdered. The court also noted that copies of the post-mortem report and the ADR had not been provided to Salian's family even five years after her death.
The court's order
The court ordered investigators to record the statement of Salian's father, Satish Salian, who had sought a fresh investigation, alleging lapses in the Mumbai Police's probe and foul play. The court also directed the Malvani Police Station to hand over all records to the CBI.
Advocate Nilesh Ojha, who represents Satish Salian, welcomed the order and said he was confident that the investigation would help establish the truth. "The Court has directed the CBI to record the statement of Satish Salian, register an FIR, appoint a senior officer to conduct the investigation, and the Malvani Police Station to hand over all records to the CBI," Ojha said. "Furthermore, action will be taken against anyone against whom evidence is found. No one will be named as an accused if there is no evidence against them. Additionally, if the CBI submits a negative report, we have the right to raise objections and file a protest petition. The court has explicitly stated this in its order. I thank the court."
Background of the case
Disha Salian was a celebrity manager who worked with several personalities, including Sushant Singh Rajput. She was engaged to actor Rohan Rai. She died on June 8, 2020, after allegedly falling from a high-rise building in Mumbai's Malad area. Police registered an ADR, and the circumstances surrounding the fall later became the subject of questions and speculation. Her official cause of death was recorded as fatal head injuries resulting from a fall from the building. It was also alleged that she died by suicide.
Salian's death occurred only six days before Rajput was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. The timing led to discussion about whether the two deaths were connected. Mumbai Police, however, had earlier said they found no link between the cases.
Family's allegations
Satish Salian approached the Bombay High Court seeking an FIR and a CBI investigation. His petition raised allegations about the circumstances of his daughter's death and accused authorities of failing to properly investigate the concerns raised by the family. In a 2025 petition, he alleged that his daughter had been gang-raped and murdered, and claimed that she "was brutally raped, murdered and subjected to a politically orchestrated cover-up." He also urged a transfer of the probe from a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the city police in 2023 to the CBI, and registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray.
In March 2025, Thackeray said, "A lot of people have tried to defame me for the last five years. If the matter is in court, then we will speak in court."
Advocate's statements
Ojha had earlier alleged that influential people and senior police officers were involved in the case and that the investigation had failed to follow applicable guidelines. "It was simple: influential accused were involved, and some senior police officers were also involved. As we have provided proof on record. All these things were affecting the situation. There were Supreme Court guidelines, Home Ministry guidelines, and directions from the Constitution Bench; an FIR was mandatory, yet they didn't do it," he said.
Ojha also questioned the post-mortem findings, alleging discrepancies in the report. "Post-mortem report prima facie looks bogus because the face is completely intact--lips intact, nose intact--she falls from the 14th floor on her face and nothing happens? Only one or two internal teeth are shown as broken. So the court said this isn't right, and they caught many of their false records," he said.
In March 2025, a new piece of information emerged which revealed that Disha died by suicide due to financial betrayal by her father Satish. The closure report of CBI stated that in addition to failed projects and misunderstandings with friends, Disha's father had misused her hard-earned money by spending it on a female employee, with whom he had an affair, at his spice manufacturing unit in Thane.