Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Monday (May 12) dismissed a plea filed by YouTuber Elvish Yadav challenging a chargesheet and criminal proceedings against him in the snake venom case.
A bench comprising Saurabh Srivastava, after taking into consideration the statements in the First Information Report (FIR) and chargesheet, dismissed the plea of Elvish Yadav, saying the veracity of allegations against would be tested in trial.
Elvish Yadav was arrested in connection with the case by the Noida Police in March last year.
The chargesheet in the case alleges consumption of snake venom at “rave” parties as a recreational drug by people, including foreigners.
Elvish Yadav was neither present at the party nor anything was recovered from him, YouTuber’s counsels argued
Senior lawyer Navin Sinha and advocate Nipun Singh, who appeared for the Elvish Yadav, argued before the High Court that the person who filed the FIR against him was incompetent to file it under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and that Elvish Yadav was neither present at the party which is alleged to have taken place in Noida nor anything was recovered from him.
The counsels representing the YouTuber further argued that no snakes, narcotic or psychotropic substances were recovered from Elvish Yadav and no causal link was established between him and the co-accused.
Elvish Yadav ‘well-known influencer’ and his involvement in the FIR garnered ‘much media attention’, YouTuber’s counsels argued
The counsels further said that their client was a “well-known influencer” and someone who appears in multiple television reality shows and his involvement in the FIR garnered “much media attention”. Influenced by the media attention, the police officials attempted to further sensationalise the case by invoking sections 27 and 27A of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act immediately after arresting Elvish Yadav, however, the police officials failed to substantiate the additional charges and, therefore, those charges were dropped, the counsels added.
State opposed Elvish Yadav’s plea
Additional Advocate General Manish Goel, who appeared for the State, opposed the plea filed by Elvish Yadav and said the investigation by the police showed that Elvish Yadav supplied snakes to people from whom recovery was made, news agency PTI reported.
