The Bombay High Court on Thursday pressed the Mumbai Police to explain why its inquiry into the 2020 death of former celebrity manager Disha Salian remains incomplete even after five years, observing that the basic question—whether the death was a suicide or culpable homicide—still has no answer.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale took up the matter while hearing a petition filed by Salian’s father, Satish Salian, who has alleged that his daughter was raped and murdered and that a political cover-up followed.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Malad. The Mumbai Police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) at the time.
During Thursday’s hearing, public prosecutor Mankhunwar Deshmukh informed the court that the police inquiry was still underway. The bench expressed displeasure at the prolonged delay, remarking, “Why still inquiry? It has been five years. Someone has died. You just have to ascertain if it was a suicide or culpable homicide.”
Deshmukh said the investigation was being carried out with “minute scrutiny” to rule out all possibilities. She also told the court that the police had recorded the statements of Satish Salian and his wife multiple times after the incident, and at the time, they had “clearly said they had no doubt or suspicion on anyone.”
“And now after five years, the father is raising these contentions,” she said.
The petitioner, however, has sought a CBI probe, claiming that his daughter’s death occurred under mysterious circumstances and alleging a politically motivated attempt to shield influential persons. He has also sought registration of an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray.
The bench questioned the police on why they had not provided the petitioner with copies of his own statements or other basic documents permissible under law. “He is the father of the victim. Any document that is legally permissible can be handed over to him,” the court said.
The court directed the Mumbai Police to produce the post-mortem report and asked Deshmukh to clarify the police’s stance regarding sharing documents with the petitioner by the next hearing.
The matter will be taken up again on December 11.
Meanwhile, Aditya Thackeray has filed an application seeking to intervene in the case, calling the petition “false, frivolous and motivated” and asking the court to grant him a hearing before any order is passed.
