Hit-and-run convict Puneet Puneet, who is fighting his extradition to Australia in Delhi court, appeared in a wheel chair with his face covered by a surgical mask on Tuesday.
Fairfax Media who was present at the court to cover the hearing spoke to Puneet’s uncle who claimed Puneed was ‘in bad shape’.
"Not only does he have liver problems, but the doctor has diagnosed his mental illness as schizophrenia," Puneet’s uncle told .
During the hearing, Puneet’s lawyer recorded testimony of witnesses who spoke about racial attacks on Indians in Australia.
Judge Pooja Talwar though questioned these testimonies’ relation to the extradition case.
Last month, Puneet’s lawyer told the court that Puneet should not be extradited to Australia because Australia is racist.
Puneet was severely criticised by the members of Indian community, the Victorian Premier and Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
Premier Andrews told , “I will let people judge for themselves the character of the individual who runs instead of facing up to the consequences of what he may or may not have done. Hiding on the other side of the world — that’s a pretty cowardly act.”
Puneet was a 19-year-old learner driver when he hit and killed Mr Hofstee, 19, and seriously injured Clancy Coker, 20, in Southbank in Melbourne on October 1, 2008.
Police estimated Puneet was driving at 148km/h — more than double the legal limit in the area. He also tested positive for alcohol.
Puneet Puneet fled Australia on a friend's passport in 2009 while he was on bail charged over the death of nursing student Dean Hofstee.
He was arrested four years later in India.
