New Delhi, 19 March (H.S.): The Supreme Court has annulled the criminal proceedings against YouTuber Elvish Yadav in the high-profile snake venom case, with a bench led by Justice M.M. Sundresh ruling that the matter falls outside the NDPS Act's ambit.
The court clarified that the Wildlife Protection Act applies solely when the complainant is a public authority, vindicating Yadav's petition to quash trial court proceedings initiated by Noida Police over alleged venom use at rave parties. A chargesheet followed joint forest-police probes implicating Yadav and others in furnishing snake toxin for recreational consumption by foreigners and attendees.
Yadav contended the accusations were baseless and contrived, having earlier lost his Allahabad High Court plea before escalating to the apex court. This reprieve caps prolonged legal entanglements stemming from the November 2023 FIR.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
