The Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected YouTuber and social media influencer Elvish Yadav’s petition challenging the chargesheet and criminal proceedings against him in the high-profile snake venom case.
The case revolves around allegations that snake venom was being consumed as a recreational drug during rave parties, reportedly attended by both Indian and foreign nationals.
Justice Saurabh Srivastava, while dismissing Yadav’s plea, noted that the veracity of the allegations as outlined in the chargesheet and FIR will be determined during the course of the trial.
Senior advocate Navin Sinha and counsel Nipun Singh, representing Yadav, argued that the FIR was improperly lodged by an individual who no longer held the position of an Animal Welfare Officer under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They maintained that Yadav was not present at the alleged party in Noida, and that neither snakes nor narcotic or psychotropic substances were recovered from him.
The counsel also claimed that Yadav had no established connection with the co-accused and highlighted that his arrest in March last year by the Noida Police attracted excessive media scrutiny due to his prominence as a “well-known influencer” and participant in various reality television shows.
The petition further alleged that police officials sensationalised the case by initially invoking Sections 27 and 27A of the NDPS Act, relating to the consumption of narcotic drugs and financing illicit trafficking. However, Yadav’s lawyers stated that these charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General Manish Goel argued that the police investigation had revealed Yadav’s alleged role in supplying snakes to individuals from whom recoveries were subsequently made.
