Photographing king cobra in forest doesn’t establish illegal capture: Karnataka High Court quashes case against snake rescuer Gowri Shankar

Karnataka High Court quashed a case after holding that photographing a king cobra in a forest does not establish illegal capture of the protected snake. The court ruled that mere photography in the wild cannot be treated as capture or hunting under wildlife protection law. The decision came in a criminal proceeding where the prosecution relied on photographs as evidence of illegal possession. The court set aside the charges, stating that the act of taking pictures does not meet the legal definition of capture. The ruling clarifies the evidentiary threshold for offences involving Schedule I species such as the king cobra.