GK Ganesan

On the court record

GK Ganesan appears in the corpus in civil litigation running from motor-accident quantum appeals to commercial contract claims and a claim against the prison authorities, argued in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan). One High Court matter, appearing for the appellant, was a 'Rayuan sivil' (civil appeal) in a road-accident claim in which the respondent had also cross-appealed, and in which the appeal was directed at the 'kuantum sahaja' (the quantum only); the court found no basis to interfere, held that the 'Keputusan Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen dikekalkan' (the decision of the Sessions Court judge was maintained), and dismissed both the appeal and the cross-appeal. A second matter, appearing for the plaintiff, was a full-trial dispute over the recovery of a deposit that had been paid directly into a glove manufacturer's bank account on the instruction of a contracting supplier; the central questions were who the true contracting parties were, whether any contractual relationship or corresponding obligation to refund existed between the plaintiff and the manufacturer, and who owed a duty of care, the court finding no contractual relationship between the plaintiff and the manufacturer. A third matter, in the Court of Appeal and appearing for the appellant, was a negligence claim against the prison authorities arising from a death in custody by suicide, which raised whether there was a foreseeable risk giving rise to liability; the appeal was dismissed on the footing that no such foreseeable risk had been shown. The deposit-recovery trial is a good illustration of how a payment made directly to a third party on another's instruction can leave the payer without a contractual remedy against the recipient, because the obligation to refund follows the contractual relationship rather than the flow of the money. Across the appearances the practice combines the assessment of damages in accident litigation, the identification of contracting parties and duties in commercial dealings, and the standard of care owed by public authorities to those in their custody.