Snake venom not hit by NDPS Act: Supreme Court quashes case against Elvish Yadav in rave party case

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the criminal case against YouTuber Elvish Yadav @ Siddharth in a case accusing him of organising rave parties where foreigners were invited and snake venom was used as a recreational drug..The Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh passed the order on Yadav's petition challenging the criminal proceedings against him under Wildlife (Protection) Act and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). The Court ruled that the offence under the NDPS Act was not made out against Yadav even if the allegation of snake venom use was true since snake venom does not come under the scope of psychotropic substances in the schedule to NDPS Act."Insofar as the issue pertaining to Section 2(23) of NDPA Act is concerned, admittedly what is recovered from the co-accused cannot come within the purview of psychotropic substances found in the schedule (of the Act)," the Bench said.With regard to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Court held that the same can be invoked only when a complaint is made by an authorised officer. In this case, the complaint was not made by the authorised officer under the Act, the Court noted."We find that Section 55 of the Act requires a complaint by an authorised authority," the Bench noted.Hence, it proceeded to quash the case. However, the Court granted liberty to the competent authority to lodge a complaint under the Wildlife Protection Act."We do not wish to leave the issue at this stage, particularly when we have not gone into the allegations on facts. We grant liberty to the competent authority to press into service Section 55 of the Wildlife Act," the Court said..Yadav was also accused of using snakes in his videos. The Allahabad High Court in May this year had declined to quash the proceedings against Yadav, who had argued that a competent officer had not lodged a complaint under Wild Life (Protection) Act. He also argued that the provisions of the NDPS Act had been invoked to sensationalize the case since Yadav is an "influencer" and appears on reality shows.However, the High Court had opined that his popularity cannot be basis of extension of protection and as per law of the land, each and every person irrespective of his popularity or personality are equal in the eye of law.This led to the appeal before the top court.Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta with advocates Raman Yadav, Tushar Gupta and Nitya Gupta appeared for Elvish Yadav. .[Read Live Coverage].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.