Fresh twist in Ketan Agarwal murder case as Siya Goyal's lawyer slaps ₹10 crore defamation notice on brother

A fresh legal confrontation has emerged in the alleged murder case of Pune-based businessman Ketan Agarwal, with accused Siya Goyal's lawyer, Ashotush Srivastava, issuing a ₹10 crore defamation notice to her brother, Sahil Goyal, over statements disputing his appointment as her legal representative.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Srivastava accused Sahil Goyal of making "completely false" claims regarding his representation of Siya Goyal and said the matter amounted to defamation.

"We have sent a ₹10 crore defamation notice to Sahil Goyal. We did this because we heard a statement from him where he is stating completely false facts, lying, and attempting to mislead the public. As far as the accused, Siya Goyal, is concerned, she has signed and authorised all necessary legal documents in every proper manner, and those documents, including the Vakalatnama have already been filed in court. She has granted us the legal authority for her High Court representation as well, which we will oversee moving forward," Srivastava said.

He further maintained that neither he nor his legal team had any association with Sahil Goyal and criticised him for making statements about the matter.

"We have absolutely nothing to do with Sahil Goyal. We haven't spoken to him, had no communication with him on any subject, and exchanged no emails. Hence, a statement of this nature from him is highly irresponsible, defamatory, and constitutes an outright attack on the legal fraternity. As an accused, Siya Goyal has every legal right to retain a lawyer. Even if she wishes to change her counsel at any point, there is a formal legal procedure for that, which strictly requires a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Sahil Goyal must issue an apology for his statement, because we do not represent him, and he holds absolutely no authority to give false statements," he added.

The dispute centres on who is legally authorised to represent Siya Goyal, one of the accused in the Ketan Agarwal murder case. According to Srivastava, all documents appointing him as her counsel have already been accepted by the court.

Speaking to IANS, he said the authorisation forms are already part of the judicial record.

"It is already on record. I had mentioned this earlier as well, and I am saying it again today that it has already been filed and is on record," he said while referring to the court's acceptance of his authorisation to appear for the accused.

Explaining the basis of the ₹10 crore legal notice, Srivastava said any individual has the legal right to seek redress if their reputation is allegedly harmed by false statements.

"A legal notice is the right of any person if they feel their reputation has been wrongly damaged, false rumours have been spread, or attempts have been made to tarnish their image. We believe this is clearly a case of defamation, which is why we have sent the notice. If he does not comply, issue a public apology and send us written communication, we will take every legal action available under the law," he said.

He also claimed that the amount mentioned in the notice reflects only the minimum damage allegedly caused by the statements.

"The basis is the reputational damage caused. In our estimation, this is the minimum level of damage; the actual damage may be even greater because false statements were made publicly without verifying court records or our documents. This is a very serious case of defamation," Srivastava said.

The lawyer added that if Sahil Goyal fails to respond within the prescribed period, his legal team will initiate both civil and criminal defamation proceedings.

"Our next step will be to immediately initiate legal proceedings, whether through civil defamation or criminal defamation. We will move forward on both fronts without delay after the prescribed time period," he said.

The latest legal dispute comes shortly after a Wadgaon Maval court remanded Siya Goyal and co-accused Chetan Chaudhary to police custody till July 3 in connection with the alleged murder of Ketan Agarwal, Bar and Bench reported.

Earlier this week, Sahil Goyal had denied appointing Srivastava as the family's lawyer and questioned his claims.

"We have never hired him, and he is not someone that we have engaged from our family. I know nothing about what he is claiming," Sahil told reporters on Monday.

The disagreement over Siya Goyal's legal representation has also involved advocate Vipul Dushing, who has claimed that he was appointed by her family to defend her. Dushing has previously stated that during an earlier remand hearing, Siya informed the magistrate that he alone represented her.

Srivastava, however, has maintained that Siya Goyal, being an adult, independently signed vakalatnamas on June 25 authorising him and his associates to represent her before both the magistrate court and the Bombay High Court. According to him, those documents have already been accepted by the court and form part of the official record.

Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary were arrested on June 23 in connection with the death of Ketan Agarwal. Investigators have alleged that Agarwal was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18.

According to Pune Rural Police, Siya Goyal, who was engaged to marry Agarwal later this year, conspired with Chetan Chaudhary, with whom investigators claim she had been in a relationship since October last year, to kill her fiancé.

Police have alleged that the two planned the crime during a meeting at a Pune café, rehearsed the act beforehand, and that Siya Goyal gave a pre-decided signal before Chaudhary allegedly pushed Agarwal off the cliff. The allegations remain under investigation.