Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte. Ltd & Anor v Suji Mannattu Thampi & 5 Ors

[2024] SGHC 148 High Court (General Division) 26 June 2024 HC/S 903/2020 ( HC/SUM 3724/2023 ) 12 min read

6 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	26 June 2024
Judge	Andre Maniam
Charges / claim	Contempt of Court
Counsel	Chevalier Law LLC, Omni Law LLC, Lim Jun Hao Alvin, Lim Si Cheng, Oommen Mathew, See Wern Hao

Source: [2024] SGHC 148, High Court (General Division), decided 26 June 2024 — eLitigation. Updated 3 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contempt of Court — Sentencing Contempt of Court — Civil Contempt

Practice Areas

Contempt of Court

Judges (1)

Andre Maniam Delivered

Counsel (6)

Chevalier Law LLC Firm Omni Law LLC Firm Lim Jun Hao Alvin Counsel Plaintiff Lim Si Cheng Counsel First Defendant Oommen Mathew Counsel First Defendant See Wern Hao Counsel First Defendant

Parties (8)

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte Ltd Plaintiff Dowser Group Pte Ltd Plaintiff Intellidocx Asia Pte Ltd Defendant Sevnic Pte Ltd (formerly known as Digital Vyuh Pte Ltd) Defendant Samir Vinodray Makwana Defendant Sheravathy Suji Thampi Defendant Suji Mannattu Thampi Defendant Thiyagarajan Athmanathan Defendant

Case Significance

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte Ltd and another v Suji Mannattu Thampi and others [2024] SGHC 148 was decided in the General Division of the High Court by Andre Maniam J on 26 June 2024, in Suit No 903 of 2020 (Summons 3724 of 2023), with judgment reserved after hearings on 12 and 26 March 2024. The plaintiffs were Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte Ltd and Dowser Group Pte Ltd, and the defendants included Suji Mannattu Thampi, Sheravathy Suji Thampi, Samir Vinodray Makwana, Thiyagarajan Athmanathan, Sevnic Pte Ltd (formerly known as Digital Vyuh Pte Ltd) and Intellidocx Asia Pte Ltd. The judgment concerned the consequences of disobeying a discharge order that had discharged an earlier search order, which required the plaintiffs to irretrievably delete data obtained by the search; instead, the plaintiffs retained some of that data and used it in the suit.

The court recorded that the plaintiffs obtained a search order on 25 September 2020, which was varied on 7 October 2020, and the search was carried out with the assistance of forensic investigators from FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd. On 3 December 2020, the search order was discharged because of material non-disclosure, with the judge holding that the non-disclosure was of such great importance that the entire search order was tainted and should be discharged. The catchwords identify the issues as civil contempt of court and sentencing. Counsel included Chevalier Law LLC for the plaintiffs and Omni Law LLC for the first defendant.

[2024] SGHC 148 explained

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte. Ltd & Anor v Suji Mannattu Thampi & 5 Ors ([2024] SGHC 148) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 26 June 2024. It is categorised under Contempt of Court. 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 [2024] SGHC 148 about?

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte. Ltd & Anor v Suji Mannattu Thampi & 5 Ors ([2024] SGHC 148) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2024. Its published catchwords are “Contempt of Court — Sentencing” and “Contempt of Court — Civil Contempt”, 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 [2024] SGHC 148 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2024] SGHC 52. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

How influential is [2024] SGHC 148?

Within this corpus, [2024] SGHC 148 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

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) Pte Ltd and Dowser Group Pte Ltd, plaintiffs in an earlier suit, faced contempt proceedings concerning their disobedience of a discharge order that had required them to irretrievably delete data obtained under a search order; instead they retained some of that data and used it in the suit. The matter concerned civil contempt of court and the appropriate sentence. The High Court imposed fines of $20,000 each on DLT and Dowser, to be paid within 14 days, and ordered the contempt respondents to pay the first defendant's costs.

What was the contempt issue in DLT Pte Ltd v Suji Mannattu Thampi [2024] SGHC 148?

Decided 26 June 2024 by Andre Maniam J, the judgment concerned the consequences of disobeying a discharge order. That order required the plaintiffs to irretrievably delete data obtained under a search order, but they instead retained some of the data and used it in the suit.

Why was the search order discharged in DLT Pte Ltd v Suji Mannattu Thampi [2024] SGHC 148?

The plaintiffs obtained a search order on 25 September 2020, carried out with forensic investigators from FTI Consulting (Singapore). On 3 December 2020 it was discharged for material non-disclosure, the judge holding the non-disclosure so important that the entire search order was tainted.