Overview
- Thackeray formally rejected the Rs 500-crore notice in a legal reply filed on Wednesday and declined to apologise or delete two posts he published on X.
- The notice was sent by Disha Salian’s father, Satish Salian, through counsel on September 17 and accused Thackeray of harming the father’s integrity and seeking public apologies plus damages.
- Thackeray’s lawyers said his posts never named Satish Salian, argued a denial cannot be recast as defamation, and described the monetary demand as false and legally misconceived.
- The exchange comes against a court-directed reinvestigation: the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe that led to an FIR and instructed investigators not to treat anyone as an accused without supporting evidence.
- If Salian pursues further civil or criminal action, Thackeray has warned he will contest it in court, and the dispute may deepen political and media scrutiny while the CBI completes its inquiry.