In a verdict blending legal precision with a faint note of ecological disapproval, the Gujarat High Court has quashed a 2009 wildlife case against television journalist Manish Bhupendrabhai Panwala, accused of disturbing a lion near Gir National Park by flashing vehicle headlights while the big cat was eating.
Back in November 2009, forest officials on lion census duty spotted a Scorpio SUV on Madhupur Road, its beams cutting through the darkness toward a feeding lion. Inside were Panwala—then with NDTV—and two NGO members, reportedly photographing the animal. They were arrested on the spot, their cameras and vehicle seized, and later released on bail.
Justice JC Doshi found that the alleged act—however unwise—did not fit the Wild Life (Protection) Act’s definition of “hunting,” which requires physical harm, capture, or similar direct threat to wildlife. “Merely disturbing a lion,” the court ruled, “is insufficient to constitute the offence.”
The prosecution suffered another fatal blow: the trial court had acted on a police-style forest offence report instead of the formal complaint mandated by Section 55 of the Act, which only certain authorised officials or properly notified private individuals may file.
Still, the bench did not let Panwala off without a moral rebuke, noting that shining lights on a feeding lion showed “a disquieting insensitivity” toward its habitat. As part of a gesture of contrition, Panwala donated ₹1 lakh to the Gujarat State Lion Conservation Society—a move the court described as evidence of “a corrective and reformative attitude.”
With the proceedings declared legally unsustainable, the case was struck down. However, the court left the door open for a properly authorised officer to revive action if warranted by the evidence.
