The Allahabad High Court has dismissed YouTuber Elvish Yadav’s plea challenging the chargesheet filed against him in connection with the alleged misuse of snakes and snake venom for creating YouTube content.
The case involves serious allegations that Elvish Yadav not only used wild snakes and venomous substances in his videos but also organized rave parties where foreign nationals reportedly encouraged people to consume snake venom and other drugs.
“The veracity of the allegations will be tested during trial,”
— Justice Saurabh Srivastava orally observed while dismissing the plea.
The single-judge bench of Justice Saurabh Srivastava refused to intervene, stating that there are statements in both the FIR and the chargesheet against Yadav. The Court also pointed out that Yadav had not challenged the FIR itself in his petition.
Senior Advocate Navin Sinha, representing Yadav along with Advocates Nipun Singh and Naman Agarwal, argued that the informant was not legally authorised to file an FIR under the Wildlife Protection Act. The defense also claimed that Yadav was not present at the alleged party and nothing was recovered from him.
However, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal countered this by stating that the investigation revealed that Yadav had provided the snakes used at the party. Based on these facts, the High Court found no merit in Yadav’s petition and dismissed it, leaving the matter for the trial court to decide.
“Yadav had supplied the snakes to those from whom they were recovered,”
— Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal submitted to the Court.
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The case stems from a First Information Report (FIR) registered at Sector-49 police station in Noida, District Gautam Buddha Nagar, under several sections including:
- Sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50, and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act
- Sections 284, 289, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code
- Sections 8, 22, 29, 30, and 32 of the NDPS Act
A summons was issued to Elvish Yadav by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar after a chargesheet was filed.
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In his plea, Yadav argued that no snakes or narcotics were recovered from him, and that there is no proven link between him and the co-accused. He also questioned the legitimacy of the FIR, claiming that the informant had falsely represented himself as an Animal Welfare Officer.
“The Applicant is a well-known influencer... The police attempted to sensationalize the case by adding NDPS charges, but later dropped them due to lack of evidence,”
— from Yadav’s written submission to the Court.
Despite these arguments, the High Court held that the matter contained sufficient material to be taken up during the trial, and the chargesheet would not be quashed at this stage.
