Sahil Kher

Judicial Review

Selected recent cases and notable cases include:

• Acting for twelve claimants supported by the Independent Schools Council in the challenge to the Chancellor’s decision to impose VAT on independent school fees (ALR and others -v- Chancellor of the Exchequer [2025] EWHC 1467 (Admin)).
• Successfully defending Haringey Law Centre in a landmark case (R (on the application of Ayinde) v London Borough of Haringey ([2025] EWHC 1040 (Admin)) concerning alleged AI use by a barrister in judicial review proceedings and potential contempt issues.
• Acting for a group of medical students challenging the compatibility of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 with their Article 8 rights.
• Acting for a commercial engineering and technology company in a judicial review against HMRC.
• Acting for an individual challenging the lawfulness of his arrest by HMRC, and the lawfulness of the seizure and detention of their possessions.
• Acting for an interested party in judicial review proceedings following a ‘No Further Action’ decision by the Police.
• Acting for the AIRE Centre in an intervention in judicial review proceedings brought by an individual against the Home Office.
• Advising a party on potential breaches of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and transparency policies by the NHS in the context of two high-value contracts.
• (Previous role) Acting for the Public Law Project, Liberty and Child Poverty Action Group in Supreme Court proceedings dealing with the power of public bodies, including the FTT, to disapply regulations that are incompatible with human rights legislation.

Environmental Law

• Acting for a major environmental organisation in a judicial review challenge against the UK government’s decision to approve the transfer of two exploration licences in the Pacific Ocean.
• Acting for two investigative journalists in Upper Tribunal proceedings in relation to the non-disclosure of ministerial submissions provided to Michael Gove (the then Levelling-up Minister) before he took the decision to approve the Woodhouse Colliery coal mine in Cumbria.
• (Previous role) Acting as the lead lawyer on the Good Law Project’s two successful challenges in the High Court to the Government’s Net Zero strategies.
• (Previous role) Acting for a conservation charity and two impacted individuals in a successful challenge to the Government’s Sewage Discharge Overflow Reduction Plan.
• (Previous role) Acting for the intervenors (at the Court of Appeal stage) in the landmark Manchester Ship Canal concerning the rights of private watercourse owners to bring common law claims in nuisance and trespass against sewerage undertakers. The case has since been heard by the Supreme Court.
• (Previous role) Acting for Rights: Community: Action in the High Court in a test case in relation to the s19 Environment Act 2021 duty on decision-makers to have “due regard” to environmental principles when making decisions.

Inquiries and Reviews

• Acting for a former senior police officer before the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI).
• Acting for various individual witnesses before the Post Office Inquiry, both at a Rule 10 and Rule 13 stage.
• (Previous role) Acting for a Core Participant in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse over a number of years
• (Previous role) Assisting the in-house team of a bank (on secondment) on an Independent Review into issues arising out of a migration to a new IT platform

Public Law Advisory

• Advising a regulator on responding to Government proposals to regulate individuals operating in their industry.
• Advising a parliamentary candidate on a potential election petition following issues with postal voting in the 2024 General Election.
• Advising a prominent entrepreneur, environmentalist and political campaigner on issues related to the July 2025 referendum held in Plymouth to determine whether Plymouth should have a directly elected Mayor.
• Advising a regional Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (the Commissioner) on matters arising out of the Government’s push for devolution and related transitional arrangements.
• Advising the Chief Constable of a police force on public law issues arising out of a proposed funding settlement for the force.
• (Previous role) Assisting and briefing MPs at committee stage on the implications of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (now Act)
• (Previous role) Advising a community group on negotiations with a water company to secure improvements on the River Dart
• (Previous role) Advising advocacy groups on information rights issues and on their organisational status.

Civil Claims

• Acting for a high-performing secondary school on two matters, including defending a disability discrimination claim brought by a former pupil.

Professional Societies & Memberships

• Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
• The Law Society
• The Bar Council of India
• The Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (India)

Further information

• Sahil is a dual-qualified solicitor, having first qualified as an Advocate in India (2013), and then trained in the London and Tokyo offices of an international law firm (2014-2016).
• Outside work, Sahil sits on the Board of Middlesex Cricket, captains Acton Cricket Club and represents both the MCC and the England and Wales Solicitors Cricket Club.