The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed the FIR and all subsequent proceedings against YouTuber Elvish Yadav in the 2023 snake venom case, holding that the complaint was not legally maintainable.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said the case could not be sustained in law as the complaint under the Wildlife (Protection) Act was not filed by an authorised person.

The court noted that offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) invoked in the FIR against Yadav were based on an earlier FIR registered in Gurugram, in which a closure report has already been filed.

On the applicability of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the bench said its provisions could not be invoked as the liquid substance (anti-venom) recovered from the co-accused was not a scheduled substance.

Referring to earlier rulings, the bench concluded that the case against Yadav could not be sustained in law and quashed the FIR and subsequent proceedings, including the filing of the chargesheet and the cognisance order of the trial court.

The case was registered on November 22, 2023, and Yadav was arrested on March 17, 2024, over allegations of using snake venom at a rave party in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav had challenged an Allahabad High Court order that refused to quash the chargesheet and the cognisance order, terming the allegations a serious offence. On August 6 last year, the apex court had stayed proceedings in the trial court.

The chargesheet alleged the 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, narcotics or psychotropic substances were recovered from him and no causal link was established between the applicant and the co-accused. The counsel also submitted that the informant, though no longer an animal welfare officer, filed the FIR showing himself to be one.

Calling Yadav a "well-known influencer" and someone who appears in multiple reality shows on television, the counsel had said his involvement in the FIR garnered "much media attention".