Today, the Supreme Court of India set aside the criminal proceedings against YouTuber Elvish Yadav, who had been accused of organising rave parties where snake venom was allegedly used as a recreational drug.

A Bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh allowed Yadav’s plea challenging the case registered against him under the NDPS Act and the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

The Court held that even if the allegations regarding the use of snake venom were assumed to be true, no offence under the NDPS Act would be made out, as snake venom is not included in the list of psychotropic substances under the law.

On the issue of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Bench noted that proceedings under the statute can only be initiated on the basis of a complaint filed by an authorised officer. Since no such complaint had been made in the present case, the Court found the prosecution to be legally unsustainable.

Referring to Section 55 of the Act, the Court observed that a valid complaint by a competent authority is a mandatory requirement. Accordingly, it quashed the case against Yadav.

At the same time, the Court clarified that it had not examined the allegations on merits and granted liberty to the competent authority to initiate fresh proceedings in accordance with law under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

The case had earlier been challenged before the Allahabad High Court, which had refused to quash the proceedings. The High Court had rejected Yadav’s argument that the case was improperly instituted and observed that his status as a public figure could not entitle him to special protection, emphasising that all individuals are equal before the law.

Following this, Yadav approached the apex court, which has now ruled in his favour. Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, along with advocates Raman Yadav, Tushar Gupta and Nitya Gupta, appeared on his behalf