In a significant development in the snake venom case, the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed YouTuber and Bigg Boss winner Elvish Yadav’s plea challenging the chargesheet and summons issued against him. The case pertains to the alleged illegal use of snakes and snake venom at rave parties, along with other serious charges under the Wildlife Protection Act, IPC, and NDPS Act.
Justice Saurabh Srivastava observed that the FIR and chargesheet contain statements linking Yadav to the offence and that the veracity of those allegations must be tested at trial. The court also pointed out that Yadav had not challenged the FIR itself in his petition.
Yadav’s counsel, Senior Advocate Navin Sinha, argued that the FIR was filed by an individual who was not competent under the Wildlife Act, and that nothing had been recovered from Yadav. However, the state’s Additional Advocate General, Manish Goyal, countered that investigations revealed Yadav supplied snakes to others from whom recoveries were made.
The court, unimpressed with Yadav’s submissions, dismissed the petition. The First Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar had earlier issued summons based on the charge sheet filed under Sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50, and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, along with Sections 284, 289, 120B of the IPC, and Sections 8, 22, 29, 30, and 32 of the NDPS Act.
Yadav claimed that he was not present at the party and argued that no causal link exists between him and the co-accused. He also alleged media sensationalism around his status as a public figure influenced the police’s decision to initially invoke stricter NDPS charges, which were later dropped due to lack of evidence.
Disclaimer: This article is based on official court updates and legal arguments presented. The case remains under trial, and all parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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