Elvish Yadav snake venom case: SC rebukes YouTuber for sending ‘bad message’ to society, using ‘voiceless victims’

YouTuber Elvish Yadav was booked in November 2023 and arrested on March 17, 2024 for the alleged use of snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court indicated that it would examine a complaint against Elvish under the Wildlife (Protection) Act in the snake venom case. The court said if popular persons are allowed to use “voiceless victims” like snakes, it could send a “very bad message” to society.

A bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and N Kotiswar Singh heard the influencer’s plea challenging the charge sheet and action against him in the case.

According to PTI, the bench questioned Elvish Yadav’s lawyer and said, “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? 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.”