Profile
Santosh’s broad practice spans Commercial and Construction, Administrative and Public, and Property law, but he accepts instructions across all of Chambers’ practice areas. He appears regularly in the High Court, County Court, and Tribunals, both as sole counsel and as a junior in complex, high-value litigation. His recent work includes acting in civil fraud claims, shareholder disputes, and judicial review proceedings in the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
His recent instructions include:
- Civil fraud trial in the Chancery Division (ongoing): Assisting the claimants in ongoing proceedings including allegations of deceit, forgery, offshore asset misappropriation and destruction of evidence.
- Defending an indemnity claim, raising issues of the scope of apparent authority and forged documents. Led by Terence Mowschenson KC, with Philippe Kuhn.
- Acting in a shareholder dispute with claims of unfair prejudice and breach of director’s duties under the Companies Act 2006.
- J v Bath and North East Somerset Council [2025] EWCA Civ 478. Intervening on behalf of the Children’s Commissioner. The Court accepted submissions that a local authority cannot consent on behalf of a child to the deprivation of their liberty, even where there is no dispute that confinement is in their best interests, to avoid the ambit of Article 5 ECHR. Led by Steve Broach KC, with Jake Thorold.
Santosh achieved a Distinction in the BCL at the University of Oxford and the highest mark in his college. He also holds degrees from the University of London (LLB, 1:1), and the University of Auckland (BSc, Computer Science, Hons). Santosh was a tutor at the University of London (Birkbeck).
Santosh has a particular interest in technology related disputes, underpinned by his background in Computer Science and experience working for global technology firms such as Salesforce. This experience enables him to navigate disputes involving complex software, AI, and blockchain systems with technical fluency and commercial insight.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Santosh had a successful career as a Management and Strategy Consultant, advising FTSE 100 companies like Barclays and Vodafone.
Santosh is multi-lingual. He is a native Hindi speaker. He also has conversational Spanish, Marathi, and Konkani skills.
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Harvey Scott
Senior Practice Manager
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Harvey Scott
Senior Practice Manager
Areas Of Expertise
Santosh is developing a broad Commercial and Construction Law practice, building on his previous career as a Management and Strategy Consultant, and work in the technology industry.
He was seconded as consultant counsel to a leading commercial litigation firm and advised them on a range of complex commercial litigation matters including contractual disputes, breach of confidence claims, shareholder disputes, and cross-border insolvency claims.
Santosh’s recent instructions include:
- Civil fraud trial (Ch D): Assisting the claimants in ongoing proceedings including allegations of deceit, forgery, offshore asset misappropriation and destruction of evidence (ongoing).
- Breach of contract trial (Ch D): Acting as sole counsel for the Defendants in a high-value contractual claim, with defences of illegality and frustration raised.
- Defending a high-value contractual dispute in the R&D sector, including claims of sham transactions and unlawful manipulation of database systems, led by David Hopkins (ongoing).
- Drafting amendments to a defence to an indemnity claim valued at over £25M, led by Terence Mowscheson KC, with Philippe Kuhn.
- Advising on the merits of the construction of terms to a private equity contract in a High Court claim valued at ~£1M.
- Drafting an unfair prejudice petition raising novel issues about the scope of unfairness and prejudice because the petitioner was the majority shareholder.
- Advising on the merits of a software sales agreement dispute between Microsoft and its resellers, including unjust enrichment claims and breach of statutory duty.
- Advising on the merits of a dispute for the provision of payroll technology services to a charity, including issues of penalty clauses and dispute resolution clause enforcement.
- Advising on the effect of a charge over book debts under a revolving loan agreement, with competing creditor claims of preference.
- Successfully striking out a claim against a director for personal liability where an allegation of negligence was maintained.
- Applying for judicial assistance under section 426 of the Insolvency Act in a cross-border cryptocurrency exchange insolvency, involving parallel issues of fraud and breach of director’s duties.
- Successfully obtaining an injunction to restrain the presentation of a winding-up petition in the High Court against HMRC, even though the company had not formally dispute the debt 6 years after it arose.
- Acting for a successful petitioner in High Court insolvency proceedings to wind up a company despite the substantive objections of the debtor and competing creditors.
- Advising on the merits of, and drafting, a professional negligence claim against a solicitors’ firm for losses arising out of the sale of a company. Led to a successful settlement.
- Advising on the merits of, and draft, a claim against a bank for breaches of statutory, contractual, and common law duties arising from delays to completing a loan transaction. Led to a successful settlement.
During pupillage, Santosh gained deep experience in a variety of commercial disputes including:
- Drafted a skeleton argument for an application for summary judgment on the basis of a complete defence to an alleged negligent misstatement by a company director.
- Drafted a defence to an additional claim made against a sub-contractor for building defects.
- Drafted a defence to an indemnity claim against a guarantor on the basis of a material variation of terms to the guarantee.
- Advised a distributor on the merits of a breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and estoppel claim against its long-term supplier.
- Advised on the interpretation of dispute resolution, jurisdiction, and governing law clauses in an equipment hire dispute.
Santosh gained further experience by marshalling with Justice Andrew Baker in the Commercial Court and observed an interim application in Arcadia v Bosworth, Hurley & Kelbrick.
Santosh is developing a broad public law practice. He has been instructed on a range of complex matters including:
- Acting for the Financial Ombudsman Service in judicial review proceedings brought against it for its interpretation of a legal insurance contract.
- Led by Steve Broach KC, with Jake Thorold, to intervene on behalf of the Children’s Commissioner of England in J v Bath and North East Somerset Council & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 478 . The Court determined that a local authority cannot consent on behalf of a child to the deprivation of their liberty, even where there is no dispute that confinement is in their best interests, to avoid the ambit of Article 5 ECHR.
- Assisting the SRA in referring cases to the independent Authorised Decision Maker with recommendations of a fine or referral to the SDT. Referrals included allegations of conflicts of interest, dishonesty, and misappropriation of client funds.
- Successfully applying to intervene on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department in High Court family law proceedings. The intervention concerned the impact to the government’s policies on unaccompanied children and small boat crossings in a Hague Convention matter.
- Advising the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the appropriate quantum for damages arising from claims for breaches of Article 3, 5, and 8 of the ECHR.
- Assisting the Secretary of State for the Home Department with claims of unlawful detention arising from immigration enforcement.
Santosh was seconded to the Financial Ombudsman Service as consultant counsel. He advised them on issues arising under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
During pupillage, Santosh gained experience on a range of complex public law matters including:
- Assisted Steve Broach KC on a variety of challenges to local authority’s decisions in relation to EHC plans of individuals with SEND needs.
- Advised a Central Government Department regarding its consultation duties in the context of formulating a policy response to fulfil some of its domestic and international environmental law obligations.
- Advised several local authorities as to the lawfulness of their age assessment decisions.
- Advised on the merits on a claim against an NHS Integrated Care Board for a delay in implementing an increased care package following a review of the care plan.
- Advised the Office of the Schools Adjudicator on the appropriate statutory construction of several provisions of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998.
- Advised the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) on the lawfulness of its sanction designation of a Russian national.
- Advised on the merits of a disability discrimination challenge against a school’s decision to exclude a SEND pupil.
- Advised the General Medical Council on the merits of an appeal made by a doctor against a disciplinary decision made by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal.
- Drafted submissions to the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care for a decision on ‘ordinary residence’ for the purposes of determining the local authority responsible for the care of a vulnerable individual pursuant to the Mental Health Act 1983.
- Drafted a notice of objection to the Supreme Court in response to a permission to appeal on the grounds of an Article 8 ECHR infringement in an entry clearance case.
Prior to pupillage, he volunteered at Lambeth Law Centre as a caseworker dealing with challenges to the local authority’s housing provision decisions and the lawfulness of utility companies’ pursuing the debts of vulnerable individuals.
Cases of Note
- J v Bath and North East Somerset Council & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 478
- R(TS) v London Borough of Hackney [2023] EWHC 3063 (Admin) – Assisted Steve Broach KC in relation to the skeleton argument for a successful judicial review against Hackney LBC’s assessment of a 13-year-old child’s social care needs and the care package provided for the same.
Santosh is building property law expertise, particularly as it engages commercial chancery disputes. His experience includes:
- Gassuer-Fleissner v Cutts (Ch D) – Successfully applying to vary an order for sale, where the mortgagee in possession was unable to transfer the property to the creditor bank by will.
- Acting in a claim for vesting order and proprietary estoppel against an insolvent overseas company, including applying for permission to serve out of the jurisdiction.
- Advising on the construction of a restrictive covenant.
- Drafting a claim against a property management company for breach of lease covenants, common law duties, and statutory duties arising out of flood damage to a commercial property. Led to a successful settlement.
- Acting in a claim and an urgent injunction to remedy commercial tenant disrepair.
