YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT Season 2 winner Elvish Yadav was slammed by the Supreme Court this week for allegedly using snake venom at a rave party. The court criticised him for sending a bad message to society and using voiceless victims, while hearing his plea against the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act filed on him.
Elvish Yadav slammed by SC for sending a bad message
The SC indicated that it would examine a complaint against Elvish under the Wildlife (Protection) Act in the snake venom case on Wednesday. A bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and N Kotiswar Singh heard a plea filed by Elvish challenging the charge sheet and the criminal proceedings against him in the case.
“If popular persons are allowed to use voiceless victims like snakes, it could send a very bad message to the society. You take the snake and play around. Did you deal with the snake or not?” questioned the bench as per PTI, asking Elvish’s lawyer, “Can you go to the zoo and play with animals there? Will it not be an offence? You can’t say that you’ll do whatever you want. We are concerned with the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act.”
Elvish Yadav’s counsel argues snakes not poisonous
Senior advocate Mukta Gupta appeared for Elvish and submitted that the YouTuber attended the party as a guest for a video by singer Fazilpuria. She also argued that there was no evidence of a rave party or consumption of a scheduled psychotropic substance. It was also claimed in court that Elvish wasn’t present at the alleged location, and the medical reports showed that the nine snakes examined weren’t poisonous.
However, the opposing counsel submitted that the police rescued nine snakes, including five cobras, and found suspected snake venom used in rave parties. The SC asked the state to explain the process of extracting snake venom and using it in parties. The next hearing is posted for March 19.
Elvish Yadav’s arrest in snake venom case
Elvish was booked for alleged use of snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in November 2023 and arrested in March 2024. Last year, the trial court proceedings against the YouTuber were stayed. In the High Court, Elvish’s lawyers had argued that no snakes, narcotics or psychotropic substances were recovered. It was also argued that given that he was a ‘well known influencer’ and someone who appeared in multiple reality TV shows, his involvement in the FIR had garnered ‘media attention’.
