Mumbai Court Grants Minister Narayan Rane And Son Anticipatory Bail In Disha Salian Case

In the defamation case of Disha Salian, the late celebrity manager who died by suicide, the Mumbai court has granted anticipatory bail to Union Minister Narayan Rane and his son Nitesh Rane. The two were accused of making defamatory statements against Salian, who was also the manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

In the First Information Report (FIR) filed against the father and son duo, the Mumbai police had stated that they were also accused of allegedly spreading false information. The case against the duo was registered by Salian's mother Vasanti Salian.

Prior to registering the FIR, Vasanti had also approached the State Women's Commission of Maharashtra and demanded action against the  duo and others who were defaming the family after the death of Disha.

Suggested Reading: Richa Chadha’s Blogpost Asks All The Right Questions About Sushant Singh Rajput’s Suicide and Nepotism

Disha Salian Defamation Case

Earlier this month, the duo was also granted interim protection by the Mumbai court from arrest until March 10. Post which they approached the Bombay High Court seeking them to quash the FIR against them. In the plea filed by Advocate Lokesh Zade, they stated that if one was to read the FIR there would be no case at all. "The present FIR is politically motivated with malafide intention to harass the present petitioners and stop them from doing their work for social cause," it stated.

This is not the first time that Nitesh Rane has received an FIR to his name. Before the defamation case took place, he was just granted bail in an attempt to murder a case by the Sindhudurg Court. For the defamation case, both father and son have been charged with Sections 211, which deals with the false charge of offence; 500, which deals with defamation; 504, which deals with intent to provoke breach 509, which deals with insult to modesty; 506 II, which deals with criminal intimidation and 34, which deals with common intention of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were also charged with Section 67, which deals with transmitting obscene material, of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Disha Salian Death

On June 9, 2020, Salian allegedly ended her life. The 28-year-old was reportedly battling depression and jumped off the 14th floor of a building in Jankalyan Nagar in Malad West, Mumbai. On arrival at a Borivali hospital, she was declared dead.

Her death was reported by the police at 2:25 AM. The senior Inspector Jagdev Kalapad of Malvani police station told the Mumbai Mirror, "There were six friends in all. They were drinking after dinner. Disha Salian, who was also tipsy, walked to the window of the apartment from where she fell down around 1 AM on Tuesday." Read more about the case here.

(Feature Image Credit: Indian Express)