SC quashes criminal proceedings against Elvish Yadav in snake venom case

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the criminal proceedings against YouTuber and Big Boss OTT winner Elvish Yadav in a case registered linked to the smuggling and consumption of snake venom.

The Supreme Court bench comprising MM Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh flagged procedural lapses and noted that the complaint and the FIR cannot be sustained in law, hence they are not going to go into other issues raised.

"The complaint and the FIR cannot be sustained in law. We are not going into other issues raised. The Proceedings stands quashed," the Court noted.


The social media influencer was arrested by the Noida Police in 2024 in connection with the snake venom case, after being taken into police custody in the previous year.

Last year, the apex court stayed proceedings in the trial court against Elvish Yadav, wherein the chargesheet alleged consumption of snake venom as a recreational drug at "rave" parties by people, including foreigners.

Yadav's counsel had argued in the high court that no snakes, narcotic or psychotropic substances were recovered from him or the linked premises, aside from the fact that no causal link was established between the applicant and the co-accused.

Yadav had approached the SC seeking the quashing of the chargesheet filed against him and summons issued in the case.

In May 2025, the Allahabad HC had dismissed Yadav's plea, observing that the allegations warranted a thorough legal examination as multiple FIRs had been registered in the matter.

As per an ANI report, Elvish Yadav was chargesheeted under Sections 9, 39, 48A, 49, 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act and Sections 284, 289 and 120B of the IPC and Sections 8, 22, 29, 30 and 32 of the NDPS Act in the FIR lodged at Police Station Sector-49, Noida, District Gautam Buddh Nagar.

The First Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar also issued a summons against him. Elbish Yadav challenged the chargesheet and the proceedings in court on the ground that the informant was not a competent person to lodge an FIR under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

It was also pleaded that no snake, narcotic or psychotropic substance has been recovered from the applicant.

Further, it was pleaded that, "It is a well-known fact that the applicant is an influential person and appears on several reality shows on television, and inevitably, the involvement of the applicant in the instant FIR attracted great attention from the media. Consequently, influenced by the aforesaid attention, the police officers attempted to make the case more sensitive by invoking Sections 27 and 27A of the NDPS Act immediately after arresting the applicant."

(With inputs from ANI)