New Delhi, March 19. The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the FIR lodged by the Uttar Pradesh Police under the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 2023 against YouTuber Elvish Yadav in the snake venom case and the proceedings to it. Justice M.M. Sundaresh and Justice N. The division bench of Kotishwar Singh said the case could not be sustained under law as the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act was not filed by an authorized person.

The court said the charges against Yadav under sections of the Indian Penal Code in the FIR were based on an earlier FIR lodged in Gurugram, in which a ‘closure report’ had already been filed. Referring to the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act invoked against Yadav in the FIR, the bench said these could not be invoked as the fluid (anti-venom) recovered from the co-accused did not fall under the scheduled substance mentioned in the Schedule.

Citing earlier judgments, the court said that the case against Yadav cannot be sustained in law and hence the FIR and all subsequent proceedings, including the filing of the charge sheet and the cognizance order of the trial court, are quashed. The case against Yadav was registered on 22 November 2023 and he was arrested on 17 March 2024 for allegedly using snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

The controversial YouTuber challenged the Allahabad High Court order refusing to quash the chargesheet and cognizance order of the trial court, terming it a serious offence. On August 6 last year, the Supreme Court had stayed the proceedings in the lower court against Yadav in this case.