Mumbai, Sep 2 The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered a CBI probe into the death of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, and pulled up the city police for not registering an FIR for six years, saying their investigation "raises more questions than answers".
A case investigation cannot go on for an inordinately long time, and the central agency probe was necessary in this case, a bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale said.
The bench criticised the police for treating it only as an accidental death for six years and noted "glaring discrepancies" in their investigation.
Salian's father had raised suspicion about the circumstances in which she died in 2020, and approached the HC.
"In the present case, the investigation went on for about six years. The investigation carried out by the police raises more questions than it answers. Therefore, an investigation by the CBI is necessary in this case," the HC said.
The high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR and record the statement of the deceased's father, Satish Salian, but clarified that no person shall be treated as an accused until and unless there is sufficient material gathered against them during the probe.
While Satish Salian sought an FIR against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, the HC refrained from making remarks against any individual, noting it was up to the central agency to investigate the case.
The court in its 44-page judgment said there are too many "glaring discrepancies" in the police probe, which necessitates a "proper and substantive" investigation.
"In this case, we are of the opinion that the police had sufficient opportunity to investigate the offence, but they have not registered the FIR and have not carried out the investigation of a cognisable offence," the court said.
Disha Salian had briefly worked as manager of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who allegedly died by suicide on June 14, 2020. A CBI probe had also been ordered in that case.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling off the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area. The city police then registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).
The high court on Wednesday ordered the Mumbai police to hand over all Disha Salian death case papers to the CBI forthwith.
"In case the investigation reveals that no case is made out, then the CBI shall file the appropriate summary report before the court concerned," the bench said.
Satish Salian would be at liberty to challenge the report, the high court said.
The HC in its order noted that Salian was an "unfortunate" father of a young daughter who lost her life in "tragic circumstances" and that the case required substantive investigation.
It, however, noted that it was refraining from referring to the allegations made by Satish Salian against some individuals.
The court pointed out certain lacunae in the investigation carried out by the police and said the spot panchnama (where the body was found) was conducted belatedly.
It also raised doubts about the fact that no blood was found at the spot where Disha Salian had fallen to her death, and also there was no bleeding injury to her head.
"If the deceased had fallen on her face from the 12th floor, then it is difficult to accept that there was only one injury on the chin of the body. Not a single facial bone was fractured. We find this difficult to accept," the HC said.
The bench said the CBI shall appoint a suitably experienced and senior officer to probe the case.
"Nobody shall be treated as an accused unless in the opinion of the investigating officer there are sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion against him depending on the material collected during the investigation," the HC said.
If any offence is made out, then an appropriate report shall be filed before the competent court, it added.
After conducting an inquiry, the police had claimed that Disha Salian's death was a case of suicide. Her father, however, filed a petition in the HC last year alleging that his daughter was gang-raped and murdered.
Satish Salian's advocate Nilesh Ojha raised doubts about the police probe into the case.
Salian sought a CBI probe into his daughter's death and an FIR against Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, the son of former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
In his plea, he claimed his daughter was found dead under mysterious circumstances in June 2020. He alleged that she was raped and murdered, and subsequently there was a politically orchestrated cover-up to protect certain influential persons.
Disha Salian had briefly worked as a manager for actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his house in Mumbai's Bandra area in June 2020.
A CBI probe was ordered in the case too. The agency last year filed a closure report in the case claiming that the actor died by suicide. The concerned court is yet to decide on the same.
Earlier, Aditya Thackeray had also filed an application in the HC seeking to intervene in the plea filed by Satish Salian and urged the court to grant him a hearing before passing any order.
Thackeray, in his application, said the petition filed by Satish Salian was false, frivolous and motivated.
