Puneet Puneet, who fled to India while on bail in a hit-and-run case in Australia, is fighting a legal battle in a Delhi court against his extradition to Australia.
Puneet was allegedly drunk when the car he was driving in Melbourne crashed into two pedestrians, both students from Queensland. The crash killed a 19-year-old student Dean Hofstee and injured another friend 20-year-old Clancy Coker on the fatal night in October 2008.
Puneet Puneet after a court hearing in India. Source: AAP
He fled Australia using someone else’s passport before being arrested in India in 2013 on his wedding day. A case has been pending in a Delhi court since then to determine if he should be sent back to Melbourne.
His lawyers had claimed Puneet had schizophrenia and was in a fragile state of mind.
An Institute of Human, Behavioural and Applied Sciences (IHBAS) doctor evaluated his mental health before declaring him fit to face the court.
"There is no reason to believe that he is not fit to stand trial," said the report presented to the court on Monday according to news agency AAP.
The court has accepted the report.
Puneet Puneet was present in the court during the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 November 2018.
Puneet Puneet, then aged 19 in 2008, had pleaded guilty to culpable driving which caused the crash, before fleeing from Australia.
