Law & Justice

Father Sues London Primary School Over Tilak-Chandlo Ban

By Naomi Canton

A father is suing Vicar’s Green primary school in Alperton, Ealing, in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court for unlawful religious discrimination and harassment after the school prohibited his nine‑year‑old son from wearing a tilak‑chandlo, a Hindu Swaminarayan religious symbol. The father, acting as his son’s litigation friend and funded by the UK Hindu network Action for Harmony, seeks £25,000 in damages and claims the school breached the public sector equality duty and the boy’s Article 9 and Article 14 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to the court papers, which The Times of India has seen, the boy was questioned by staff about his tilak‑chandlo in November 2025 and told it was not permitted. The parents wrote to the school, noting that the boy had worn the symbol for four years and that the school’s uniform policy did not forbid it. On 12 December the boy was removed from the school council, where he represented his class. The school then issued a new uniform policy that prohibited religious symbols. In January 2026 the parents withdrew their child from the school.

The school denies the allegations, stating that the prohibition did not prevent the boy from practising Hinduism and that there were legitimate concerns that allowing the tilak‑chandlo could have adverse consequences, including a breakdown in pupil cohesiveness. It also questions whether the boy follows the Swaminarayan faith, denies that the mark is obligatory to wear daily, and claims staff suggested he wear the symbol on covered parts of his body, which the parents rejected.

Ambrish Limbachia, director of Ashray Law and representing the boy through his father, said the case raises important questions about religious freedom and equality in British education.