YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav was booked for the alleged use of snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in November 2023 and arrested in March 2024. On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India quashed the criminal proceedings against him, holding that the FIR could not be sustained in law on the limited legal issues examined.
SC quashes FIR against Elvish Yadav in snake venom case
A Bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh confined its consideration to two specific questions: the applicability of Section 2(23) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and the validity of proceedings under Section 55 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
On the NDPS Act aspect, the Court noted the argument presented by the appellant’s senior counsel that the alleged psychotropic substance recovered from a co-accused was not listed in the Schedule of the Act. The Bench observed that the substance was, in fact, not part of the statutory schedule. It also highlighted that no recovery had been made from Yadav himself, and the charge sheet only suggested that he had placed orders through an associate.
With regard to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Bench pointed out that Section 55 requires prosecution to begin through a complaint filed by a duly authorised officer. Referring to settled legal precedent, the Court held that the FIR, as it stood, was not maintainable.
The Bench also took note of submissions that offences under the Indian Penal Code were not separately made out, as they were linked to an earlier complaint that had already been closed.
On these grounds, the Court held that the FIR could not survive legal scrutiny and ordered that the proceedings be quashed. It further granted liberty to the competent authority to initiate fresh proceedings in accordance with the law, including filing a proper complaint under Section 55 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, if deemed necessary.
Earlier, in February, the Supreme Court had criticised Elvish over the allegations. “If popular persons are allowed to use voiceless victims like snakes, it could send a very bad message to society. You take the snake and play around. Did you deal with the snake or not?” the Bench had remarked, as per PTI. It also questioned his counsel: “Can you go to the zoo and play with animals there? Will it not be an offence? You can’t say that you’ll do whatever you want. We are concerned with the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.”
About Elvish Yadav’s recent work
Elvish is currently part of Laughter Chefs Season 3, hosted by Bharti Singh and Harpal Singh Sokhi. The show also features Aly Goni, Tejasswi Prakash, Karan Kundrra, Abhishek Kumar, Jannat Zubair, Krushna Abhishek, Kashmera Shah, Ankita Lokhande, Samarth Jurel, Nia Sharma and Arjun Bijlani, among others. The show is available to watch on Colors TV and JioHotstar.
