New Delhi: For six years, the only narrative on the death of 28-year-old Disha Salian rested on a theory: An accidental fall from the 12th floor balcony of a flat in Malad in the intervening night of 8-9 June 2020, when the city was contained due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But to her father, Satish Salian, that explanation seemed “manufactured”.
On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court acknowledged the father’s relentless pursuit for legal answers, and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a formal case and conduct a probe into the matter.
“Six years. That is how long it took to come here. I have come for every court hearing, I have met every police officer involved in the probe. I have lost everything during this fight,” Satish told ThePrint.
The high court’s decision to hand the probe to the CBI raises questions about how the investigation was handled during the preliminary police proceedings. A bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale directed Mumbai Police to hand over all case records to the CBI and ordered that the probe be conducted by a suitably experienced and senior officer.
The case, which was registered as an Accidental Death Report (ADR), will now be registered as an FIR. Disha was the former manager of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Rajput later died by suicide on 14 June at his residence in Bandra.
It was in March 2025 that Satish moved the Bombay High Court seeking a fresh probe into the circumstances under which Disha was found dead.
The 4 am call
It was a regular June for Satish and for his daughter. Disha was at her fiance’s flat in Malad.
At 4 am, Satish said, he received a call from the police that Disha was found dead after falling off the balcony of a residential building.
He and his wife immediately headed for Malad. On the way, he called his daughter’s friend who advised them to go to Shatabdi Hospital, Kandivali; but also told him not to look at the body as it would be too painful.
The next day, Satish was called to the police station and shown a photograph of the body.
“I raised suspicion that no blood was seen, which was expected in a case of a death caused by a fall from a high-rise building,” Satish said.
‘Not convinced’
Satish says he was not convinced that Disha had died by suicide. He was not given any information regarding the investigation, nor a copy of the postmortem report. The postmortem examination was conducted on 11 June 2020, though the death had occurred on the night of 8-9 June.
“That was when I suspected something was amiss,” Satish Salian said.
On 9 June, the Malvani police station lodged an Accidental Death Report at 3.07 am. “Police made no inquiry when they lodged the ADR. They started an investigation under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. I was not informed regarding the investigation at any stage,” Satish said.
On 10 June, the DCP of Malvani Zone held a press conference and declared that the deceased had died by suicide.
The reason for a late postmortem, the police said, was that they had to first ascertain the death was not due to COVID-19.
‘False story concocted’
In court, Satish’s lawyer Nilesh Ojha said: “The petitioner’s daughter was working with Sushant Singh Rajput. She got to know about some objectionable activities of powerful people. She gave that information to Sushant Singh Rajput, who innocently divulged that to others and ultimately that information reached back to those people; and, therefore, to silence the petitioner’s daughter her murder was committed.”
Counsel Ojha submitted that “it is not a case of accidental death or a simple case of suicide. The death of the petitioner’s daughter is the outcome of a deep rooted conspiracy involving powerful people.” He also said a substantive criminal investigation under Section 154 of the CrPC was needed.
Contesting this, Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray submitted that the extensive investigation, carried out on two occasions, resulted in the same conclusion—the petitioner’s daughter had died by suicide and there was no foul play.
He submitted that “during both these inquiries the petitioner’s statements were recorded on multiple occasions. In none of these statements had he raised any suspicion about commission of any offence. Even the petitioner’s wife had not raised any suspicion in her various statements.”
However, the high court has observed: “In this case the spot panchnama was conducted belatedly and there are indications that the police were not treating the case as an accidental death case but they were suspecting foul play.”
Further, it was observed by the court: “The police were present in the building at 12.59 am on 9.6.2020. Thus, right from about 1 am. to 2.14 am, the police were present at the spot in the building. There is no reference either in the ADR or in the following investigation as to why they had gone there. There is no reference as to who were those police officers and what investigation they had carried out there and why there is no such reference in the ADR or in the following reports.”
It also pointed out that the assistant chemical analyser attached to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Mumbai “had raised a significant issue”.
“They had addressed a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police and had informed him that they had received the articles and it was mentioned in the forwarding letter that the death was caused because of jumping from the 12th floor. In that case, it was expected that there was more blood on the articles, but, when the articles were opened there was less blood,” the court observed.
The police then acted on that letter and sent their own letter on 7 October 2020, to the Medical Officer, Borivali Postmortem Centre seeking their opinion on why there could be less blood on the articles. There was a specific reference to the clothes of the deceased. “The police themselves were not sure as to why there was less blood on her clothes,” the court observed.
“In the present case, the investigation was carried out in two stages and it went on for about six years. This is not the object of investigation under Section 174 of CrPC. The investigation carried out by the police raises more questions than it answers. Therefore, investigation by CBI is necessary in this case,” the court said.
Ojha told ThePrint, “Disha’s father had claimed the police had built a false case. All they filed was an accidental death report. We knew we had no trust in Mumbai Police, so we relentlessly pursued the case, and today, it has been ordered that CBI will probe the matter. This is a win, especially for the father, who fought really hard.”
But, Ojha said, while the case was complicated, it was also challenging to find the evidence.
What the court has observed
The Bombay High Court, in its order has said, “The officer attached to the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI], who is in-charge for Mumbai region, shall appoint a suitably experienced and senior CBI officer as an Investigating Officer in this case.”
Further, it said, “Such officer shall record the statement of the petitioner and register the FIR. The Investigating Officer shall conduct the investigation regarding all aspects surrounding the circumstances in which the petitioner’s daughter lost her life.”
“Nobody shall be treated as an accused unless in the opinion of the Investigating Officer there are sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion against them depending on the material collected during investigation. The investigation shall be carried out under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. If the offence is made out, appropriate report be filed before the competent Court.”
The court has said, in case the CBI investigation reveals that no offence was committed, then appropriate summary be filed before the competent court; but in that case, the petitioner shall have a right to file the protest petition challenging such a report.
“The concerned officers of Malvani police station, Mumbai shall hand over all the necessary papers and articles to the Investigating Officer of CBI. The petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. With disposal of the petition, all the connected applications are also disposed of.”
A father’s only memory
Satish, who has a food business, doesn’t consider this a win. For him, this is just a start. There is a long way to go.
“I have had to fight for my daughter, who isn’t even here. My legal team has worked really hard to come here,” he said.
But, Satish’s legal pursuit didn’t start the day Disha died. “Since 2020, I have been very calm. I have only observed the case: How it unfolded, what the police said, what politicians said, what was shown on TV, and then, what was shared on social media. I have heard, seen, read every detail on the case. But, today, the court has realised what it takes to fight powerful people, and I have hope. Today, I have a lot of it.”
It was only in the last 2-3 years that Satish realised that he would have to take his battle to the court and ensure a case is registered.
“Even when I was fighting the case, I was not scared of any threats. When you lose everything you have, what can you be scared of?”
But even as the case has gone forward, Satish has missed his daughter, every single day.
Disha, her father says, secured first position in class from nursery till 10th. “When she came to class 12th, she told me, papa I want to study mass media. She used to read newspapers as a child.”
“I miss Disha. I used to drop her to school and college every single day. These six years have been painful, lonely, but I will not step back. I will fight for my daughter.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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