Allahabad High Court Dismisses Elvish Yadav’s Plea to Quash Chargesheet in Snake Venom Case

The Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by YouTuber Elvish Yadav seeking to quash the chargesheet filed against him in connection with the snake venom case.

A single-judge bench of Justice Saurabh Srivastava declined to interfere, disposing of the petition on merits. Advocates Nipun Singh and Naman Agarwal appeared on behalf of Yadav.

Yadav faces prosecution under Sections 284, 120-B, and 289 of the Indian Penal Code; Sections 8, 22, 29, 30, and 32 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985; and Sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50, and 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The case stems from an FIR registered at Sector-49 Police Station, Noida, in Gautam Buddh Nagar district. He is accused of using snakes and snake venom in videos uploaded to YouTube.

Further allegations include organizing rave parties attended by foreign nationals, where snake venom and other narcotic substances were allegedly distributed.

The case was initiated on the complaint of Gaurav Gupta, a member of the NGO People for Animals. Acting as part of a sting operation, Gupta allegedly approached Elvish Yadav and was provided with a contact number. He subsequently reached out to five individuals who were later arrested. During interrogation, these individuals reportedly told the police that they supplied snake venom for rave parties allegedly organized by Yadav.

Case Title: Elvish Yadav @ Siddharth vs State of UP and Another