Six years after Disha Salian, a talent manager who had worked with actor Sushant Singh Rajput, died after a fall from a high-rise in Mumbai, her case is back in the headlines. The Bombay High Court has ordered the CBI to register an FIR and investigate. This guide explains what happened, why the case is open again, who is named in the FIR, what her advocate Nilesh Ojha argues, and how the police, the state and the people named have responded. Allegations are kept clearly apart from established facts.
Why is the Disha Salian case reopened?
The Bombay High Court ordered the CBI on 2 September 2026 to register an FIR and investigate Disha Salian's June 2020 death. The order followed a petition by her father, Satish Salian, who alleges gang-rape and murder and says Mumbai Police mishandled the case. The CBI registered its FIR in mid-September. Nobody has been declared an accused, and the allegations remain unproven and disputed.
Disha Salian case at a glance
- Who
- Disha Salian, a 28-year-old celebrity talent manager who had worked with Sushant Singh Rajput
- Date of death
- 8 June 2020
- Where
- A residential high-rise in Malad, Mumbai (most reports say the 14th floor)
- Original finding
- Accidental Death Report; police said there was no evidence of murder
- Petitioner and advocate
- Satish Salian (her father) and Advocate Nilesh Ojha
- Court order
- Bombay High Court, 2 September 2026 (bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale)
- CBI FIR
- Mid-September 2026 (most reports say 14 September)
- Officer in charge
- SP Seema Pahuja supervising, with DySP Puran Kumar assisting (as reported)
- Current status
- Early-stage investigation; no accused named
Who was Disha Salian?
Disha Salian was a Mumbai-based celebrity talent manager who handled work for several people in the entertainment industry, including Sushant Singh Rajput. She was 28 when she died on 8 June 2020 after a fall from a residential building in the Malad area of Mumbai. Malvani Police registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).
Six days later, on 14 June 2020, Rajput was found dead at his home in Bandra. That six-day gap, far more than any proven link, is what tied the two stories together in public debate for years.
Disha Salian case timeline: 2020 to 2026
- 8 June 2020Disha Salian dies after a fall in Malad. Malvani Police register an Accidental Death Report.
- 14 June 2020Sushant Singh Rajput is found dead at his Bandra residence.
- 2020 to 2021Police wind up their inquiry, treating the death as a suicide or an accidental fall. The case becomes a sharp political dispute in Maharashtra.
- December 2023Mumbai Police form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the death.
- 2025Satish Salian petitions the Bombay High Court for a fresh probe and an FIR. The CBI closes the Sushant Singh Rajput case and gives Rhea Chakraborty a clean chit.
- 2 September 2026The Bombay High Court directs the CBI to register an FIR and investigate.
- 12 to 14 September 2026Satish Salian records his statement before the CBI, and the FIR is registered.
- 16 to 17 September 2026Aaditya Thackeray publicly denies any connection. Satish Salian issues a Rs 500-crore legal notice. Reports say SP Seema Pahuja is supervising the probe.
Why did the Bombay High Court order a CBI probe?
The direct trigger is the High Court's order of 2 September 2026. A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale directed the CBI to appoint a senior, experienced officer, record Satish Salian's statement, register an FIR, and take over the records from Malvani Police. Based on reports of the hearings and the order, these are the main concerns behind it:
- Only an ADR, no FIR. The court questioned why police registered just an Accidental Death Report even after the father alleged murder and named people. The bench said his allegations could be right or wrong, but police should have registered an FIR and given the family closure, especially as the ADR inquiry ran on for five to six years.
- Documents not shared. The bench noted that the family had not been given copies of the post-mortem report and the ADR. Ojha told the court the post-mortem report reached the father only after about five years, once he had approached the High Court.
- An unexplained question about the body's clothing. Police had seized and identified her clothes through a panchnama, yet a police letter asked the autopsy doctor why the body was nude. The court described this discrepancy as unexplained.
- Injury pattern. The order flagged how front teeth could be broken in a fall that, on the record, left the rest of the face unmarked.
The court also set safeguards. No one is to be treated as an accused unless the investigating officer finds sufficient material. The chargesheet is to be filed as early as possible. If no offence is made out, the CBI must file a closure report, which Satish Salian is free to challenge.
Important distinction: the order is a direction for a fresh investigation. It is not a judicial finding that the earlier police conclusion was false, that Disha Salian was murdered, or that any named person did anything wrong.
Disha Salian advocate's key points: what Nilesh Ojha argues
Advocate Nilesh Ojha represents Satish Salian. These are the main arguments reported from his submissions and public statements. They are the petitioner's side of the case and will now be tested by the CBI.
- An FIR was mandatory.He argues that Supreme Court and Constitution Bench directions required an FIR once the family alleged a cognisable offence, and that police registered only an ADR.
- The post-mortem report looks inconsistent.He has called the report prima facie bogus, asking how the lips, nose and face could be intact after a fall from a great height while only one or two internal teeth are recorded as broken.
- The father was kept in the dark.Police did not share even the post-mortem report for about five years, he told the court.
- No FIR against the people the father named.He questioned why police did not register an FIR against a political leader and others named in the father's complaint.
- Independent forensic review.He engaged Dr Bhoopesh Kumar Sharma, a forensic science professor at SGT University, Gurugram, in March 2025 to examine photographs of the deceased along with the post-mortem report. The report was placed before the court.
- A legal safety net.If the CBI files a negative or closure report, the family can object and file a protest petition, and the court's order says so explicitly.
What do Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra government say?
Mumbai Police and the state government have consistently held that the investigation found no evidence strong enough to prosecute anyone for murder. Their position is that Disha Salian either died by suicide or fell accidentally. In an affidavit before the High Court, police said the post-mortem report did not indicate sexual or physical assault.
At the September 2026 hearing, Chief Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray repeated that there was no evidence to prosecute anyone. He also asked why the father had not raised his suspicions when police recorded his and his wife's statements several times. The state added that a later inquiry, started after allegations about the original probe surfaced, also found no strong evidence of murder.
Disha's family has never accepted that conclusion, which is why the matter has now moved to the CBI.
Who is named in the CBI FIR in the Disha Salian case?
Reports say the CBI FIR is based on Satish Salian's complaint and lists people whose roles need to be examined. It records allegations under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions covering criminal conspiracy, gang-rape, murder, destruction of evidence, and falsification of records by a public servant. The FIR names no accused.
| Group | Names mentioned in reports on the FIR | Reported context |
|---|---|---|
| Political leaders | Aaditya Thackeray; Uddhav Thackeray (then chief minister); Anil Deshmukh (then home minister) | The complaint alleges a cover-up. Aaditya Thackeray denies ever meeting or knowing Disha Salian, and Shiv Sena (UBT) rejects the allegations. |
| Film and entertainment | Rhea Chakraborty; Showik Chakraborty; Dino Morea; Sooraj Pancholi; Rohan Roy (spelled Rohan Rai in some reports) | Named for their roles to be examined. Rhea Chakraborty was given a clean chit when the CBI closed the Sushant Singh Rajput case in 2025. |
| Police officials | Sachin Vaze; Param Bir Singh; DCP Vishal Thakur; officers of Malvani Police Station | The complaint alleges misuse of police machinery, fabrication of records and suppression of evidence. These are allegations to be examined. |
| Others | Aaditya Thackeray's bodyguards, and other individuals | Named in the complaint. Their roles are yet to be examined. |
Being named is not being accused. The High Court specifically directed that nobody be treated as an accused unless the investigation produces sufficient material. Appearing in an FIR or complaint is not evidence of guilt.
According to reports, the CBI plans to speak to people who attended a gathering at her fiancé's home on the night of 8 June 2020, to the police officers who handled the original inquiry, to autopsy and forensic personnel, and to security staff at the building.
How have the people named responded?
- Aaditya Thackeray said on 16 September that he has never met or known Disha Salian. He called the repeated linking of his name to the case an evidence-free attempt at character assassination driven by political motives.
- Uddhav Thackeray said his party has no connection with the case, that investigators are free to investigate, and that legal steps would follow if what he called character assassination continued.
- Satish Salian responded on 17 September with a Rs 500-crore legal notice to Aaditya Thackeray and former home minister Anil Deshmukh. He says their statements portrayed his pursuit of a fresh probe as politically motivated, and he seeks damages and an apology. This is a notice, not a court finding.
- BJP leader Nitesh Rane questioned why Aaditya Thackeray had stayed silent on the matter for six years.
- VBA president Prakash Ambedkar said that after six years the question is how much evidence remains, but that modern forensic science can help establish the cause of death.
Is the Disha Salian case linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death?
No link has been established. Disha Salian died on 8 June 2020 and Sushant Singh Rajput on 14 June 2020, and that closeness fuelled speculation. The High Court's latest order concerns only the circumstances of Disha Salian's death. Any connection between the two deaths would have to emerge from evidence gathered in an investigation, and the CBI's own Rajput case was closed in 2025.
What happens next in the CBI investigation?
- The CBI will re-examine the Malvani Police records, the scene records, post-mortem and forensic material, and record fresh statements.
- If it finds a cognisable offence, it will proceed according to law and file a chargesheet, which the court wants done as early as possible.
- If it finds no offence, it will file a closure report before the competent court, and Satish Salian can challenge it through a protest petition.
- Legal and political exchanges, including the defamation notice, will continue alongside, but they are separate from the criminal probe.
Key takeaways
- The Bombay High Court ordered the CBI to register an FIR on 2 September 2026, and the FIR followed in mid-September.
- The petitioner alleges gang-rape and murder. Mumbai Police and the state say there is no evidence of it. Neither side's claim has been proven in court.
- Several political figures, film personalities and police officials are mentioned in the FIR for examination, but nobody has been named an accused.
- The advocate's case rests on the missing FIR, post-mortem inconsistencies, delayed access to documents and an independent forensic review.
- This is an early-stage investigation, and the outcome will depend on evidence.
Disha Salian case FAQs
Who is Disha Salian?
Disha Salian was a Mumbai-based celebrity talent manager who had worked with Sushant Singh Rajput and other entertainment figures. She died on 8 June 2020, aged 28, after a fall from a residential high-rise in Malad, Mumbai. Police registered an Accidental Death Report and maintained there was no evidence of murder.
Why is the Disha Salian case reopened?
On 2 September 2026 the Bombay High Court ordered the CBI to register an FIR and investigate her death after a petition by her father, Satish Salian. He alleges gang-rape and murder and questions the police handling. The court noted that only an Accidental Death Report had been registered and pointed to unexplained discrepancies in the records. It did not rule that the earlier police conclusion was wrong.
Who is Disha Salian's advocate and what are his main points?
Advocate Nilesh Ojha represents her father, Satish Salian. His main points are that an FIR should have been registered instead of only an ADR, that the post-mortem report looks inconsistent (an intact face but broken teeth), that the family received the post-mortem report only after about five years, and that police did not register an FIR against a political leader and others named by the father. He also relies on a private forensic expert's review.
Who is named in the CBI FIR, and are they accused?
Reports say the FIR mentions Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray, Anil Deshmukh, Rhea Chakraborty, Showik Chakraborty, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Rohan Roy, former police officers including Sachin Vaze and Param Bir Singh, and Malvani Police officers, among others, as people whose roles need examination. No one has been named an accused, and the High Court said nobody should be treated as an accused unless the investigation finds sufficient material.
What has Aaditya Thackeray said about the Disha Salian case?
Aaditya Thackeray has said he never met or knew Disha Salian and calls the linking of his name to the case a politically motivated attempt at character assassination. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has said the party has no connection with the case and has warned of legal steps if the allegations continue.
What did Mumbai Police say earlier about her death?
Mumbai Police registered an Accidental Death Report and concluded there was no evidence to prosecute anyone for murder, saying she either died by suicide or fell accidentally. In an affidavit before the High Court, police said the post-mortem report did not indicate sexual or physical assault. The state repeated this stance during the September 2026 hearing.
Is Disha Salian's death linked to Sushant Singh Rajput's death?
No link has been established. The two deaths happened six days apart, on 8 and 14 June 2020, which fuelled speculation, but the High Court's order concerns only Disha Salian's death and does not establish a connection. The CBI closed the Sushant Singh Rajput case in 2025 and gave Rhea Chakraborty a clean chit.
What is the Rs 500-crore legal notice in the Disha Salian case?
On 17 September 2026 Satish Salian issued a Rs 500-crore legal notice to Aaditya Thackeray and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh. He seeks damages and an apology over statements he says portrayed his pursuit of a fresh probe as politically motivated. It is a notice, not a court finding, and it is separate from the CBI investigation.
Who is leading the CBI investigation?
Reports say senior CBI officer Seema Pahuja, a Superintendent of Police in the Special Crime Unit at CBI headquarters, is supervising the probe, assisted by Deputy SP Puran Kumar. The team is expected to record statements, including from people at the 8 June 2020 gathering, and to re-examine police records, autopsy material and forensic evidence.
Was Disha Salian murdered?
That has not been established. Her father alleges gang-rape and murder, while the earlier police investigation found no evidence of it and treated the death as a suicide or an accidental fall. The CBI is now examining the allegations, and the High Court has stressed that an FIR is not a finding of guilt.
What happens after the CBI investigation ends?
If the CBI finds a cognisable offence, it will proceed according to law and file a chargesheet, which the court asked to be done as early as possible. If not, it will file a closure report before the competent court, which Satish Salian can challenge through a protest petition.
Final word
The Disha Salian case has moved from a closed police file to a CBI investigation after six years. What the evidence shows is still unknown. Until the agency reports and a court examines its findings, the fair reading is that there are serious allegations, firm denials, and an official process that has only just begun. Follow the CBI and court updates for the next developments.
Sources and further reading
- The Week: What Bombay HC said about the accused named by her father (2 Sept 2026)
- ANI: Bombay High Court orders CBI to register FIR in Disha Salian death case
- NewsDrum: Bombay HC orders CBI probe after 6-year wait
- Brut India: Disha Salian death case explained (17 Sept 2026)
- ThePrint: Gurugram expert flagged the post-mortem paradox before the CBI FIR
- NewsGram: CBI launches fresh probe (21 Sept 2026)
- The Statesman: Who is Seema Pahuja
- Gulf News: CBI closes Sushant Singh Rajput death case
Editorial note: This article is based on published news reports up to 21 September 2026 and is for general information. It does not allege wrongdoing by any person. Everyone named is presumed innocent, and all allegations are unproven unless a court finds otherwise. It is not legal advice. This story involves a death by suspected suicide; if you or someone you know is struggling, the Tele-MANAS helpline in India (14416) offers free, confidential support.