In a public interest litigation that calls for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his former manager Disha Salian, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray has asked to be given the opportunity to present his viewpoints before any decision is made.
Thackeray in his application filed on October 13 through advocate Rahul Arote said the PIL was not maintainable as a probe in the matter was already on by state machinery.
The PIL, filed by the Supreme Court & High Court Litigants Association of India’ through its president, Rashid Khan Pathan, in September this year demanded the immediate arrest and custodial interrogation of Thackeray in connection with the “mysterious” deaths of Disha Salian and Sushant Singh Rajput. The PIL has not yet been taken up for hearing by HC. We have filed an intervention application saying we should be heard before any order is passed. We have said the PIL is not maintainable as the investigation in Sushant Singh Rajput matter is already on by CBI, Arote said. How can any order be passed in a PIL when a state machinery is already seized of the probe, he added.
The PIL sought a direction to the CBI to probe Thackeray, a former Maharashtra minister, and for a comprehensive probe report to be submitted. Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020. While the Mumbai police registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) case and started a probe, the actor’s father in July lodged a complaint with the Bihar police alleging that Rajput’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty and her family members had abetted his suicide.