New twist in Ketan Agarwal murder case as lawyer Siya Goyal slaps ₹10 crore defamation notice on brother | Today’s news

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

In an interview to news agency PTI, Srivastava accused Sahil Goyal of making “absolutely false” claims regarding his representation by Siya Goyal, saying it was defamation.

“We sent a ₹10 crore defamation notice to Sahil Goyal. We did this because we heard a statement from him where he states completely false facts, lies and tries to mislead the public. As far as the accused Siya Goyal is concerned, she has signed and authorized all the necessary legal documents in all proper ways and those documents including the Vakalatnama have already been produced before the court. She has given us legal authority to represent her in the High Court as well, which we will oversee,” Srivastava said.

He further claimed that neither he nor his legal team had any connection with Sahil Goyal and criticized him for making a statement on the matter.

“We have absolutely nothing to do with Sahil Goyal. We have not spoken to him, we have not communicated with him on any subject and we have not exchanged any e-mails. Therefore, his statement of this nature is highly irresponsible, defamatory and a direct attack on the legal fraternity. As an accused, Siya Goyal has every legal right to retain counsel, even if she strictly wishes to change counsel at this point. Sahil Goyal must defend to excuse his statement because we do not represent him and he has absolutely no authority to make false statements,” he added.

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

In an interview with IANS, he said that the authorization forms are already part of the court register.

“It’s already on record. I’ve mentioned it before and I’m saying it again today that it’s already been filed and it’s on record,” he said, pointing to the court’s approval of his mandate to appear before the accused.

Explanation of the basis ₹Srivastava said that every individual has a legal right to seek redress if their reputation is allegedly damaged by false statements.

“Anyone who feels that their reputation has been unfairly damaged, false rumors spread or attempts made to tarnish their image is entitled to legal notice. We believe this is clearly a case of defamation and that is why we have sent the notice. If it does not comply, publicly apologize and send us a written report, we will take all legal action available under the law,” he said.

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He also argued that the amount in the summons reflected only minimal damage allegedly caused by the listings.

“The bottom line is reputational damage. In our estimation, this is a minimal amount of damage, the actual damage may be even greater because the false claims 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 does not respond within the stipulated time, his legal team will initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings.

“Our next step will be to initiate legal proceedings immediately, whether for civil defamation or criminal defamation. We will proceed on both fronts without delay after the prescribed period,” he said.

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

Earlier this week, Sahil Goyal denied Srivastava’s appointment as the family’s lawyer and disputed his claims.

“We never hired him and he is not someone we engaged from our family. I don’t know anything about what he is claiming,” Sahil told reporters on Monday.

The controversy over Siya Goyal’s legal representation also involved advocate Vipul Dushing, who claimed he was appointed by her family to defend her. Dushing previously said that during an earlier inquest hearing, Siya informed the judge that only he was representing her.

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Srivastava, however, insists that Siya Goyal, as an adult, independently signed vakalatnamas on June 25 authorizing him and his associates to represent him and his associates before both the Magistrate’s Court and the Bombay High Court. According to him, these 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 say Agarwal was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort near Lonavala on June 18.

According to Pune Rural Police, Siya Goyal, who got engaged to Agarwal later this year, conspired with Chetan Chaudhary, who investigators say she was in a relationship with since October last year, to kill her fiance.

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