Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang
Key facts
| Court | High Court (General Division) |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judge | Goh Yihan |
| Charges / claim | Damages |
| Counsel | Davinder Singh Chambers LLC, Davinder Singh s/o Amar Singh, Fong Cheng Yee David, Sambhavi Rajangam, Wong Zi Qiang Bryan |
Source: [2024] SGHC 136, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
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Judges (1)
Counsel (5)
Case Significance
Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang and another matter [2024] SGHC 136 was decided by the General Division of the High Court of Singapore on 24 May 2024, with Goh Yihan J delivering the reserved judgment after hearing the claimants' evidence in open court on 2 May 2024. The judgment was an assessment of damages in Originating Claim No 496 of 2023 (Assessment of Damages No 4 of 2024), in which Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan was the claimant, and Originating Claim No 497 of 2023 (Assessment of Damages No 3 of 2024), in which Vivian Balakrishnan was the claimant; Lee Hsien Yang was the defendant in both. The assessment followed a judgment in default of a Notice of Intention to Contest or Not Contest that Goh Yihan J granted in favour of the claimants on 2 November 2023. The defendant did not appear on 2 May 2024 and had not responded to the Originating Claims since they were filed on 2 August 2023, so the court decided the matter on the claimants' case while also considering and ultimately rejecting arguments the defendant could have made. The court awarded general damages and aggravated damages in this defamation assessment.
[2024] SGHC 136 explained
Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang ([2024] SGHC 136) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 24 May 2024. It is categorised under Damages. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. 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 [2024] SGHC 136 about?
Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang ([2024] SGHC 136) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2024. Its published catchwords are “Damages — Assessment — Defamation”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.
Which legislation does [2024] SGHC 136 consider?
The judgment refers to State Courts Act (Cap 321). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.
What was Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan v Lee Hsien Yang [2024] SGHC 136 about?
Decided on 24 May 2024 by Goh Yihan J, the case was an assessment of damages for defamation. It followed a default judgment granted on 2 November 2023 in favour of claimants Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan and Vivian Balakrishnan against Lee Hsien Yang, who did not respond or appear.
Why did the court assess damages by default in [2024] SGHC 136?
The defendant, Lee Hsien Yang, had not responded to the Originating Claims since they were filed on 2 August 2023 and did not appear at the 2 May 2024 hearing. Goh Yihan J therefore decided the assessment on the claimants' case, granting general and aggravated damages.
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Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2024] SGHC 136)