An Indian national on the run from the law has taken poison while facing extradition proceeding in India, a Delhi court has been told.
The 29-year-old is contesting an extradition appeal by the Australian authorities who want him over a fatal hit and run that claimed the life of a 19-year-old Queensland student and left his friend badly injured.
His lawyer Kanhyia Kumar Singhal told Delhi’s Patiala House court on Friday that Puneet had consumer poison, the AAP reported.
"My client is suffering from serious medical conditions and consumed poison last night. He is suffering from mental illness,” Mr Singhal told the court.
He said his client was in a serious but stable condition at a Delhi hospital.
In October 2008, Puneet (then 19) was driving at 150km/h with a blood alcohol reading of 0.165 when he lost control of his car and hit Gold Coast students Dean Hofstee and Clancy Coker in Southbank in Melbourne.
He was on bail awaiting sentence after pleading guilty when he escaped to India on a friend’s passport in 2009. Puneet was arrested four years later in Punjab.
Bhaskar Vali, the lawyer for the Indian government strongly objected to Mr Singhal’s claim that the case was of “ political character”.
"We do not have a nefarious design to get Mr Puneet extradited", Mr Vali said.
"He ran over someone then pleaded guilty, then ran away to his home country, breaking all trust. Any medical conditions put forward have to be viewed in the context of his previous conduct", Mr Vali told the Patiala District Court.
Mr Singhal said Puneet felt he was being “persecuted not prosecuted” and that he had suffered a severe kidney disease due to the trial.
Mr Singhal said: "If doctors say he is not fit to face trial - then what?"
Puneet has repeatedly claimed that he will face a threat to his life if is extradited to Australia. Last month, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also raised the issue with the Indian authorities during his visit to the country.
If you or anyone else is experiencing stress or need help, call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or go to
