06 October,2026 06:35 PM IST | Mumbai | Abhitash Singh
Satish Salian, father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian. FILE PIC
Satish Salian, the father of late celebrity manager Disha Salian, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking deletion or clarification of a clause in the court's September 2 order which states that a person should not be treated as an accused unless the investigating officer has sufficient grounds to raise reasonable suspicion against him.
The application stems from the High Court's September 2 order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a first information report (FIR) and probe Disha Salian's death after her father raised suspicions about the circumstances surrounding it. The court had also directed the CBI to record Satish Salian's statement while observing that no person should be treated as an accused unless sufficient material emerges against them during the investigation.
Salian filed Interim Application No 20475 of 2026 on Tuesday in Criminal Writ Petition No 1612 of 2025.
The application argues that the observation, which was made in the context of the arrest of an accused, is allegedly being interpreted more broadly and has caused confusion and prejudice to the petitioner.
Salian has cited the Supreme Court's judgment in Balkishan A Devidayal v State of Maharashtra (1980), which dealt with the meaning of "accused of an offence" under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court had held that a person against whom a formal accusation of commission of an offence has been made can fall within the expression "accused of an offence".
Salian has, therefore, sought deletion of the clause or, alternatively, its clarification by the Bombay High Court.
The application is now before the High Court for consideration.
Disha Salian died on June 8, 2020, after falling from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Malad area. The Mumbai Police subsequently registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR).
Following an inquiry, the police concluded that Salian's death was a case of suicide. Her father, however, approached the Bombay High Court in 2025, alleging that his daughter had been gang-raped and murdered.
