Saradha Lakshmi Hariharan

Associate

Saradha is a commercial litigator. She has been active in competition law litigation, fraud and asset recovery matters, corporate disputes and regulatory enforcement.

In the field of competition law litigation, she has assisted in acting for the Malaysian Competition Commission in all levels, from the Competition Appeal Tribunal to the Federal Court, in both appeal and judicial review matters.

In the field of fraud and asset recovery, she has worked on obtaining injunctions in recovery of misappropriated funds at the High Court and on appeal.

She has also assisted in providing advice for corporate disputes, corporate fraud and has assisted in successfully obtaining leave to the Federal Court with regard to important questions of law governing oppression actions.

Saradha graduated from the University of Malaya in 2022.

Key Practice Areas

Competition Law
  • Currently assisting counsel in acting for the Malaysian Competition Commission (“MyCC”) in a judicial review application by the MyCC against the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s decision in favour of the General Insurance Association of Malaysia and its members in relation to MyCC’s findings on the alleged infringements of the Competition Act 2010 on trade discounts on automotive parts prices and hourly labour rates for motor vehicle repairs by approved workshops.
  • Assisted counsel in acting for the MyCC in opposing the appeal filed by Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd in relation to MyCC’s findings that Dagang Net had abused its dominant position by engaging in exclusive dealing through the imposition of exclusivity clauses on software providers of the National Single Window.
  • Successfully assisted counsel in representing the MyCC before the Competition Appeal Tribunal in an appeal by five (5) warehousing storage service providers in relation to MyCC’s finding of infringement of the Competition Act 2010 for the implementation of agreed charged for the handling services of long length and heavy lift of import and export cargo in Port Klang.
  • Assisting counsel in a review of a Federal Court decision to dismiss MyCC’s application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision of Malaysian Airline System Bhd v Competition Commission & Another Appeal [2022] 1 CLJ 856
  • Assisted counsel in acting for MyCC in judicial review proceedings filed by, among others, Grabcar Sdn Bhd (“Grab”). Grab sought to challenge MyCC’s proposed decision to fine Grab RM86.77 million to Competition Law breaches for abuse of dominant position.
Fraud and Asset Recovery
  • Assisting counsel in obtaining an injunction in recovery of misappropriated funds at the High Court.
  • Assisted counsel in the execution of an Anton Piller Order to recover evidence of misappropriation of funds.
Commercial Litigation
  • Assisting counsel with regulatory enforcement of a breach of insider trading laws under section 188 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
  • Assisting counsel in acting for an offshore chartering company with respect to debt recovery amounting to RM 8 million.
  • Assisting counsel in matters relating to the imposition of maintenance and sinking fund charges and other issues of Malaysian Strata Law.
  • Assisted in providing advice for a government owned entity with respect to several construction-based disputes.
Corporate Litigation and Shareholder Disputes
  • Assisted counsel in successfully obtaining leave to the Federal Court with regard to novel questions of law governing oppression actions pursuant to Section 346 of the Companies Act 2016.
  • Assisted in providing advisory opinion to an international healthcare conglomerate on board composition and conflict of interest matters.
Qualifications
  • Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya (2023)
  • LL.B. (Hons), University of Malaya (2022)
Publications and Talks

Authored the following articles

  • Author, Traditional Knowledge and Legal Protection of Handicrafts as a Form of Cultural Heritage with a Focus on Indigenous Traditional Cultural Expressions – A Case Study on the Pua Kumbu [2022] 1 LNS(A) Iv 1, CLJ Malaysia, 2022.