Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang

[2023] SGHC 331 High Court (General Division) 27 November 2023 HC/OC 496/2023 · HC/OC 497/2023 22 min read

6 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	27 November 2023
Judge	Goh Yihan
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure
Counsel	Davinder Singh Chambers LLC, Davinder Singh s/o Amar Singh, Fong Cheng Yee David, Sambhavi Rajangam, Wong Zi Qiang Bryan

Source: [2023] SGHC 331, High Court (General Division), decided 27 November 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure — Injunctions Civil Procedure — Judgments and orders — Judgment in default of a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Goh Yihan Delivered

Counsel (5)

Davinder Singh Chambers LLC Firm Davinder Singh s/o Amar Singh Counsel Plaintiff Fong Cheng Yee David Counsel Plaintiff Sambhavi Rajangam Counsel Plaintiff Wong Zi Qiang Bryan Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (3)

Lee Hsien Yang Defendant Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan Plaintiff Vivian Balakrishnan Plaintiff

Case Significance

Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang and another matter [2023] SGHC 331 is a decision of the General Division of the High Court delivered by Goh Yihan J on 27 November 2023, covering Originating Claims Nos 496 and 497 of 2023 brought by Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan and Vivian Balakrishnan against Lee Hsien Yang. The claimants sought judgment in default of a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest under the Rules of Court 2021 after the defendant did not file such a notice. Goh Yihan J examined whether the court may enter judgment, including injunctive relief, on the basis of that failure alone, or whether a prima facie case under the statements of claim must still be established, and allowed the applications.

[2023] SGHC 331 explained

Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang ([2023] SGHC 331) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 27 November 2023. It is categorised under Civil Procedure. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 331 about?

Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang ([2023] SGHC 331) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Civil Procedure — Injunctions” and “Civil Procedure — Judgments and orders — Judgment in default of a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2023] SGHC 331 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2023] SGHC 75. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 331?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 331 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

Cabinet ministers Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan and Vivian Balakrishnan brought defamation claims against Lee Hsien Yang over allegations relating to the leasing of properties at Ridout Road, and applied for judgment after the defendant did not file a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest. The issue was whether default judgment, including injunctive relief, could be entered on that failure alone. Goh Yihan J entered judgment in default against the defendant with damages to be assessed and granted injunctions restraining publication of the allegations.

What did the court decide in Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang [2023] SGHC 331?

Goh Yihan J allowed the applications on 27 November 2023, entering judgment in default of a Notice of Intention to Contest against Lee Hsien Yang in Originating Claims 496 and 497 of 2023, addressing the standard for such default judgments.

Who were the claimants in [2023] SGHC 331 against Lee Hsien Yang?

The claimants were Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan in Originating Claim No 496 of 2023 and Vivian Balakrishnan in Originating Claim No 497 of 2023, both seeking default judgment before Goh Yihan J on 27 November 2023.