KOTAGARALAHALLI PEDDAPPAIAH NAGARAJA v MOUSSA SALEM & 2 Ors

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 6 consider?

The judgment refers to Civil Law Act (Cap 43) and Companies Act (Cap 50). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGHC 6 High Court (General Division) 6 January 2023 HC/S 663/2020 66 min read

16 cases cited (9 SG, 7 foreign) Cited by 7 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	6 January 2023
Judge	Vinodh Coomaraswamy
Charges / claim	Companies, Trusts
Counsel	Allen & Gledhill LLP, Infinitus Law Corporation, Rev Law LLC, WongPartnership LLP, Afzal Ali, Chiam Yunxin, Chua Sui Tong, Edmond Lim, Gan Jhia Huei, Koh Swee Yen, Lee Shu Xian, Leo Cheng Suan, Lin Chunlong, Ramesh Kumar s/o Ramasamy

Source: [2023] SGHC 6, High Court (General Division), decided 6 January 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Companies - Shares Trusts - Express trusts Trusts - Resulting trusts - Presumed resulting trusts

Practice Areas

Companies Trusts

Judges (1)

Vinodh Coomaraswamy Delivered

Counsel (14)

Allen & Gledhill LLP Firm Infinitus Law Corporation Firm Rev Law LLC Firm WongPartnership LLP Firm Afzal Ali Counsel Plaintiff Chiam Yunxin Counsel Defendant Chua Sui Tong Counsel Defendant Edmond Lim Counsel Plaintiff Gan Jhia Huei Counsel Defendant Koh Swee Yen Counsel Defendant Lee Shu Xian Counsel Defendant Leo Cheng Suan Counsel Defendant Lin Chunlong Counsel Defendant Ramesh Kumar s/o Ramasamy Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (4)

SLI Developments Pte Ltd Defendant Kotagaralahalli Peddappaiah Nagaraja Plaintiff Moussa Salem Defendant Serene Phey Sai Lin Defendant

Case Significance

Kotagaralahalli Peddappaiah Nagaraja v Moussa Salem and others [2023] SGHC 6 was decided in the General Division of the High Court (Suit No 663 of 2020) by Vinodh Coomaraswamy J, with judgment reserved after hearings in May, July and August 2022 and delivered on 6 January 2023. The plaintiff sought to vindicate rights as beneficial owner of one-third of the shares, or one share, in the third defendant, SLI Developments Pte Ltd, relying on a written declaration of trust the second defendant, Serene Phey Sai Lin, executed on 23 July 2015 (the "2015 Trust Deed"). The first defendant, Moussa Salem, opposed the claim, contending that the second defendant held all the shares on a resulting trust for him arising from his payment of the incorporation fees and the capital on the shares; the catchwords record issues of express trusts, presumed resulting trusts, and company shares, with the Civil Law Act and Companies Act referenced.

[2023] SGHC 6 explained

KOTAGARALAHALLI PEDDAPPAIAH NAGARAJA v MOUSSA SALEM & 2 Ors ([2023] SGHC 6) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 6 January 2023. It is categorised under Companies and Trusts. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 7 other reported Singapore judgments, 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 6 about?

KOTAGARALAHALLI PEDDAPPAIAH NAGARAJA v MOUSSA SALEM & 2 Ors ([2023] SGHC 6) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Companies - Shares”, “Trusts - Express trusts”, and “Trusts - Resulting trusts - Presumed resulting trusts”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 6 consider?

The judgment refers to Civil Law Act (Cap 43) and Companies Act (Cap 50). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 6?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 6 has been cited by 7 later reported Singapore judgments. 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

Kotagaralahalli Peddappaiah Nagaraja claimed a beneficial interest in shares of the third defendant company, relying on a 2015 trust deed executed by the second defendant, while the first defendant, Moussa Salem, contended the shares were held on resulting trust for him following his payment of incorporation and capital costs. The dispute centred on express and presumed resulting trust principles over the company's shares. The court found against the plaintiff, holding the shares were held on a presumed resulting trust for the first defendant alone and dismissing the claim.

What was the trust dispute in Nagaraja v Moussa Salem [2023] SGHC 6?

The plaintiff claimed beneficial ownership of shares in SLI Developments Pte Ltd under a 2015 Trust Deed executed by Serene Phey Sai Lin. The first defendant, Moussa Salem, argued she instead held the shares on a resulting trust for him, based on his payment of incorporation fees and share capital.

Who heard [2023] SGHC 6 and what statutes were involved?

Vinodh Coomaraswamy J heard the matter in the General Division of the High Court, Suit No 663 of 2020, delivering reserved judgment on 6 January 2023. The catchwords cover express trusts, presumed resulting trusts and company shares, referencing the Civil Law Act and Companies Act.