A fresh legal row has surfaced in the Ketan Agarwal murder case after Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, who claims to represent accused Siya Goyal, served a Rs 10 crore defamation notice on her brother, Sahil Goyal, over remarks questioning his authority to appear for her.
In the legal notice, Srivastava said Siya Goyal had formally appointed him as her legal counsel through a duly executed vakalatnama (authorisation letter), rejecting allegations that he had falsely claimed to represent her.
“Ms Siya Goyal has duly executed and signed the Vakalatnama/authority in my favour for her legal defence. The said appointment was not an oral claim, not a media projection and not an unauthorised assertion, but a legal authority voluntarily given by an adult accused/client. The original/signed Vakalatnama is already filed before the competent court, and her additional signed original copies of the relevant documents shall be produced before the appropriate forum/Court of law as and when required,” the notice stated.
According to the notice, the vakalatnama has already been accepted and placed on record before the Vadgaon Maval Court. Despite this, Srivastava alleged that Sahil Goyal made “false, misleading and defamatory” statements to the media without verifying the court records or contacting him.
“It is appalling, distressing and shocking that, instead of first verifying the authenticity and legality of the Vakalatnama duly filed on record or without having any conversation with us, you blatantly, irresponsibly, maliciously and fraudulently issued a public/media statement suggesting that I was not appointed or authorised by the family members,” the notice read.
The notice further claimed that Sahil’s statements created the impression that Srivastava had falsely presented himself as Siya Goyal’s lawyer, leading to public ridicule, online trolling, threatening phone calls, professional embarrassment and damage to his reputation.
Srivastava has demanded that Sahil immediately withdraw the statements, issue a public apology and provide a written undertaking that he will not make similar allegations in future. Failing this, the notice warns that civil and other legal proceedings will be initiated, including a claim for Rs 10 crore in damages for alleged defamation and reputational loss.
The dispute stems from comments made by Sahil Goyal ahead of Monday’s court hearing in the murder case. Speaking to reporters, he questioned Srivastava’s authority to represent his sister and alleged that the lawyer had neither been appointed by the family nor authorised to appear on her behalf.
Sahil further claimed that Srivastava may have obtained Siya Goyal’s signature “by deceit” after the lawyer made several media appearances identifying himself as her counsel and commenting on the case.
Maintaining the family’s stand, Sahil said Advocate Vipul Dushing had been appointed to represent Siya Goyal. He also claimed that the family had filed an affidavit before the court on the issue and alleged that Srivastava had threatened them.
The exchange has added a fresh legal dimension to the high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case, with a separate dispute now unfolding over the question of legal representation.
