The dispute over Siya Goyal’s legal representation comes a day after police recreated the alleged murder at Pune’s Lohagad Fort
A fresh controversy has emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case after advocate Aashuutosh Srivastava, who claims to represent accused Siya Goyal, served a Rs 10 crore defamation notice on her brother, Sahil Goyal, over statements questioning his appointment as her legal counsel.
The dispute centres on who is officially representing Siya Goyal, who has been arrested along with her alleged lover, Chetan Chaudhary, for the alleged murder of her fiancé, Ketan Agarwal. Police allege Agarwal was pushed off a cliff at Lohagad Fort near Pune on June 18.
Lawyer claims valid authorisation
The controversy began after Srivastava appeared publicly on behalf of Siya Goyal and questioned the evidentiary value of her alleged confession made while in police custody.
However, a day later, advocate Vipul Dushing announced that he and his legal team were representing Siya Goyal, leading to confusion over her legal representation.
Explaining his decision to initiate legal action, Srivastava said:
“We have sent a Rs 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.”
He further said: “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.”
VIDEO | Pune: Siya Goyal’s lawyer, Ashotush Srivastava, slaps Rs 10 crore defamation notice on her brother in Ketan Agarwal murder case.
He says, “We have sent a Rs 10 crore defamation notice to Sahil Goyal. We did this because we heard a statement from him where he is stating… pic.twitter.com/guACw4Twma
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 30, 2026
Brother denies appointing advocate
Sahil Goyal, however, denied that the family had engaged Srivastava to represent his sister.
“We have never hired him (Advocate Aashutosh Srivastava), and he is not someone that we have hired from our family. I know nothing about what he is claiming,” Sahil Goyal told ANI.
Crime scene recreated at Lohagad Fort
The dispute over legal representation comes a day after Pune Rural Police took Siya Goyal to Lohagad Fort to recreate the events leading to Ketan Agarwal’s death.
According to investigators, Goyal allegedly demonstrated how she signalled co-accused Chetan Chaudhary by sitting down, either pretending to drink water or tie her shoelaces, before Chaudhary allegedly pushed Agarwal off the cliff.
Police also claim the two had visited the fort before the incident to identify a suitable location for the alleged murder and had conducted a “practice” run. Investigators are continuing to verify where the alleged rehearsal took place.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
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