The murder investigation into Pune-based realtor Ketan Agarwal has taken a new turn, with advocate Aashutosh Srivastava issuing a Rs 10-crore defamation notice to Sahil Goyal, the brother of prime accused Siya Goyal, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a television interview.
The legal notice accuses Sahil Goyal of making false and damaging statements that allegedly harmed Srivastava’s professional reputation. Along with seeking Rs 10 crore in damages, the advocate has demanded that Sahil withdraw the allegations, issue a public apology and provide a written assurance that he will not repeat such claims.
The dispute stems from an interview Sahil Goyal gave to India Today TV, in which he denied that his family had engaged Aashutosh Srivastava as Siya Goyal’s lawyer. He also alleged that Srivastava may have obtained Siya’s signatures on legal documents through deception.
Rejecting the allegations, Srivastava said his legal team had approached Siya directly and that she had voluntarily authorised them to represent her. According to the legal notice, Siya signed a vakalatnama appointing his team without any involvement from her family.
The disagreement also surfaced in court on Monday. Srivastava appeared before the Vadgaon Maval court claiming to represent Siya Goyal and submitted a vakalatnama bearing her alleged signature. However, Siya informed the court that advocate Vipul Dushing was representing her. Her family also reiterated that Dushing had been officially appointed as her legal counsel.
Ahead of the hearing, Sahil Goyal had publicly maintained that Srivastava had never been authorised by the family to appear on Siya’s behalf. He said advocate Vipul Dushing was the family’s chosen lawyer and claimed an affidavit confirming the appointment had already been filed before the court. Sahil also accused Srivastava of threatening the family.
Responding to the controversy, Srivastava insisted that Siya, being an adult, was fully capable of choosing her own legal representation.
“Our team met Siya Goyal because she needed legal assistance. She voluntarily signed the vakalatnama in our favour. We never spoke to Sahil Goyal. We dealt directly with Siya, who authorised us to represent her up to the Bombay High Court,” Srivastava said.
The allegations made in the defamation notice represent Srivastava’s claims. Sahil Goyal has not yet issued a public response to the legal notice.
Meanwhile, investigators continue to seek custodial interrogation of Siya Goyal and co-accused Chaudhary. Police told the court that the investigation has revealed the two had allegedly visited Lohagad Fort earlier to identify the location from where Ketan Agarwal was purportedly pushed to his death.
