Dato' Sri Rajan Navaratnam

On the court record

Dato' Sri Rajan Navaratnam appears in the corpus in substantial civil litigation touching professional liability, the immunity of witnesses and company law, argued from the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) to the Federal Court (Mahkamah Persekutuan). One Court of Appeal matter, appearing for the appellant, concerned an application to strike out a writ and statement of claim under Order 18 rule 19 of the Rules of Court 2012, brought against a law firm and former partners in the context of the administration of an estate; the pleaded case alleged conspiracy to commit fraud, deceit, breach of trust and misappropriation, and the strike-out turned on whether the claim disclosed a sustainable cause of action or was frivolous, scandalous, vexatious and an abuse of process, with res judicata, estoppel and double recovery also in issue. A Federal Court matter, appearing for the respondent, raised questions of real doctrinal significance: whether witnesses enjoy absolute immunity from civil liability for evidence given in judicial proceedings, the application of the doctrine of finality of litigation, whether the tort of malicious prosecution applies in civil proceedings in Malaysia, and whether fraud based on perjury is a recognised and actionable tort. A third matter, in the High Court and appearing for the defendant, was a company-law dispute over the automatic vacation and removal of directors, nominee directors and their fiduciary duties, the disclosure of interests, board powers and internal management, together with a consent order, questions of locus standi, arbitration and interim injunctions. Running through the three matters is the theme of finality and the limits of collateral attack: whether a claim recycling issues already litigated should be struck out as res judicata and an abuse of process, whether the immunity of witnesses and the finality of litigation bar a fresh action founded on their evidence, and whether a consent order and the internal-management rules of a company can be reopened through disputes over directors and board powers. The profile is that of counsel engaged in high-stakes commercial and professional-liability litigation, including appellate argument on foundational questions of tort and civil procedure.