Pune, June 30: A new legal controversy has emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case. Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, representing the accused Siya Goyal, has sent a defamation notice worth ₹10 crores to Siya’s brother, Sahil Goyal. The notice alleges that Sahil made false, misleading, and defamatory statements against them in the media, causing serious harm to their professional image and reputation.
In the legal notice, Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava stated that Siya Goyal had formally appointed him as her legal representative through a signed power of attorney. This appointment was not based on any verbal claims, media publicity, or without authority, but was granted by an adult accused of her own volition.
According to the notice, the original signed power of attorney has already been submitted to the competent court, and other original documents will be presented if necessary in the relevant forum or court.
The notice claims that Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava’s power of attorney has been accepted and recorded by the Vadgaon Maval Court. Despite this, Sahil Goyal publicly questioned their appointment without verifying the legal documents or consulting with the lawyer.
The notice expressed shock and disappointment that Sahil Goyal made statements in the media questioning the validity of the power of attorney without confirmation, stating that he was not appointed or authorized by the family.
Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava contended that Sahil Goyal’s statements misled the public into believing that he falsely claimed to be the accused’s lawyer or intervened in the case without authority. The notice indicated that these allegations have led to mockery, trolling, threats, offensive phone calls, professional embarrassment, and damage to his reputation.
Through the legal notice, Sahil Goyal is demanded to immediately retract his alleged defamatory statements, publicly apologize unconditionally, and provide written assurance that such allegations will not be made again in the future.
The notice also warned that if a satisfactory response is not received within the stipulated time frame, Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava would initiate appropriate legal action against him. This would include a civil suit for ₹10 crores in damages for defamation and loss of reputation.
This dispute began on Monday, prior to a hearing in the case, when Sahil Goyal questioned Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava’s appointment during a media interaction, claiming that the family never appointed him as their lawyer. He also alleged that Ashutosh Srivastava may have obtained Siya Goyal’s signature under false pretenses.
Sahil Goyal’s statement came at a time when Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava was publicly identifying himself as Siya Goyal’s lawyer and responding to issues related to the case across various media platforms.
However, Sahil Goyal firmly stated that the family did not appoint Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava as their lawyer. Instead, Advocate Vipul Dushing has been designated as their legal representative. He also claimed that the family has submitted an affidavit regarding this matter in court. Furthermore, Sahil alleged that threats had been made against their family by Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava.
This new controversy in the Ketan Agarwal murder case appears to be evolving into a separate legal battle between the accused’s family and the lawyer claiming to represent her.
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