By Caroline Schelle and Eliza Rugg
Hit-run driver Puneet Puneet has been released on bail in India in a setback for protracted efforts to extradite him to Australia.
Puneet fled to India while awaiting sentencing over the 2008 death of university student Dean Hofstee in a drink-driving crash.
The 33-year-old was granted bail on July 7 to allow him to care for his ailing parents despite prosecutors arguing that he be kept behind bars.
Lawyers for Puneet said his mother had a “lung disease and there is no one to look after her”, according to court documents.
Prosecutors opposed bail and said Puneet was “a flight risk and was apprehended only after three years of search.”
A spokesman for federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said, “securing Puneet’s extradition remains a very high priority for the Australian government.”
“Indian authorities are responsible for pursuing Australia’s extradition request through the Indian courts and the Australian government is grateful to Indian authorities for their ongoing assistance in progressing this request,” the spokesman said.
Puneet fled the scene of the 2008 crash but was later caught and pleaded guilty to culpable driving.
He recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.165 when arrested and police estimate he was driving at 150 km/h at the time of the crash.
Puneet was on bail and due to be sentenced in 2009 when he absconded on a passport borrowed from a friend.
He was arrested on his wedding day four years later but has continued to fight extradition proceedings.
He is currently appealing the decision to be sent back to Australia, and the case has yet to be heard in front of the High Court of Delhi.
However, Puneet surrendered himself to authorities and was placed in custody in September 2021.
Before being granted bail in the High Court of Delhi, he had to pay a surety of 20,000 rupees and is barred from leaving India. Puneet also had to surrender his passport and provide authorities with his phone number.
He is due before the court again on October 17.
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