Punneet Puneet extradition status

[MichaelB]

Punneet is now in custody in India, with the extradition process ongoing.

ABC News

Will he have to pay for hotel quarantine when he does arrive back ?

[1Rowdy1]

Punneet is now in custody in India, with the extradition process ongoing.

ABC News

Will he have to pay for hotel quarantine when he does arrive back ?

I am more than happy to pay it for him.

[cycles gitane]

ABC story, state government is looking forward to justice


“He ran as cowards do and the family of his victim needs to have that justice, we all do," Mr Andrews said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-03/ ... /100431778

[find_bruce]

Punneet is now in custody in India, with the extradition process ongoing.

ABC News

Will he have to pay for hotel quarantine when he does arrive back ?

It's ok, he will be a guest of her majesty, but probably kept in a single occupancy room for a couple of weeks before being able to mingle with other guests

[ColinOldnCranky]

Now there is a stay on any actionb imposed by the HIgh Court in India. Grounds are that the extradition request was made before the signing of the treaty.

The relevant facts as I believe them to be:

• The request was made early 2010.
• A new treaty was signed in 2008 but only came into effect in 2011. However there was an treaty before that. The new treaty streamlined some the process somewhat.It only requires Australia to "reasonably establish that the person sought has committed the offense" rather than the previous need to prove guilt in India.

Those facts are consistent with the pleadings of Puneet's lawyers.

The new treaty allowed for extradition on matters that predated it.

I would hope that it makes no difference. Puneet's defence team has long made argument that are irrelevant or just plain legal non-sequiturs, probably because his lawyers had so little else to work with.

[Thoglette]

Apparently we're going to torture him (ABC)

Lawyers for Puneet Puneet made the comments on his behalf after appearing at Patiala House, a district court of Delhi, for a brief administrative hearing ahead of extradition proceedings later this month.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Further to Thoglette's post, I have pulled out what I think is cogent comment on the recent decision.

I hope that it puts to bed an lingering doubts that some have expressed in the past of the integrity of the Indian justice's handling of this case.

Recommending the extradition, the Court, noted Puneet’s charges in Victoria to face trial for the offences;

Culpable Driving under Section 318(1) of the Crimes Act, 1958 (Victoria);
Negligently causing serious injury under Section 24 of the Crimes Act, 1958 (Victoria);
Improper use of a foreign travel document under Section 21(2) of the Foreign Passports (Law Enforcement and Security) Act 2005 (Commonwealth).

Rejecting the legal technicalities and racial prejudice arguments submitted by the defence attorney on behalf of Puneet, the Court noted the submissions lacked “cogent proof”.

Also rejecting the arguments that Puneet had already been held in custody for more than 18 months in India and faced years of hounding by the agencies, the Court further noted,

“With respect to arguments of the Counsel for the fugitive criminal that he had already spent almost 18 months in custody in India, faced extradition proceedings for the last seven years and has no money to fight litigation in foreign country, it is held that the same are no grounds for refusing his extradition in terms of statutory provisions and treaty obligations. The plea of period of incarceration already undergone by the FC in India, may be raised by him before the concerned courts in requesting state,” it stated.

This is pretty consistent with all of the court's handling of this case. Other than an eventual granting of a hard fought battle for bail, at no other stage has there been even a hint of a win to Puneet of anything. No sign of anyone in high places pulling strings. No support by judges to some of the ridiculous arguemnts put on Puneet's behalf. No taking the bait by the Indian media to run stories about Puneet being treated unfairly by Australia. And no popular movement supporting Puneet's protestations about racist Australians shafting him in any way.

Yes, just as did Christopher Skase, Puneet's dragged it out for a hell of a lot of time. But that is probably a reflection mostly on the backlogs in India. Christopher Skase never did get pulled back from Spain whereas Puneet's chances of avoiding extradition look very thin.

[ColinOldnCranky]

CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

The court has recommended that Puneet be extradited. The final step then is for that recommendation to be accepted by India'n Government's Executive.

However a stay was put on referring the recommendation to Executive so that Puneet's team could appeal if they choose to. Which they have.

That appeal is scheduled to occur in the third week of this month (though often these things do not happen on anticipated dates in the backlogged system).

If Puneet's appeal is unsuccessful then the recommendation will go to Executive government who would be expected to rubber-stamp it. Puneet would then be on a plane to Australia, presumably under the control of Australian Federal Police, VicPol or some other Australian agent.

Although Puneet pled guilty in 2008, he was never sentenced. A Victorian court will pass sentence and I doubt that they will give any credit for late stage apologies and protestations of "sincere regret". I expect that further charges arising out of his flight from Australi will be laid. (Jumping bail, illegal use of passport, false identity, false utterance on various documents and so forth.)

[MichaelB]

Good news !!

[nemo57]

But he's going to be tortured if he's extradited!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-10/ ... /100452208
Yep. Probably.
And will face discrimination. Just spitballing here, but perhaps the sort of discrimination reserved for those who have pled guilty to culpable driving, jumped bail, travelled on a false passport and ducked accountability for a decade.

[Ross]

CURRENT STATE OF PLAY

The court has recommended that Puneet be extradited. The final step then is for that recommendation to be accepted by India'n Government's Executive.

However a stay was put on referring the recommendation to Executive so that Puneet's team could appeal if they choose to. Which they have.

That appeal is scheduled to occur in the third week of this month (though often these things do not happen on anticipated dates in the backlogged system).

If Puneet's appeal is unsuccessful then the recommendation will go to Executive government who would be expected to rubber-stamp it. Puneet would then be on a plane to Australia, presumably under the control of Australian Federal Police, VicPol or some other Australian agent.

Although Puneet pled guilty in 2008, he was never sentenced. A Victorian court will pass sentence and I doubt that they will give any credit for late stage apologies and protestations of "sincere regret". I expect that further charges arising out of his flight from Australi will be laid. (Jumping bail, illegal use of passport, false identity, false utterance on various documents and so forth.)

I reckon he won't come here due to Covid. And if by some chance he does he'll get the usual slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf and sent on his way.

[ColinOldnCranky]

PRICELESS!

7 News item. It demonstrates the sort of arguments that his legal team have had to present in the absence of any real defence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnwU8Z4ETI


His desperate pleadings include:

• He will be hanged, treated unwell, differently
• The 18 months he spent in gaol before the court finally allowed him bail is sufficient.
• His crime was inunintentional (Comment - no, just driving drunk at 142kph in dark evening city streets without a license!)
• The victims had been drinking
• His wife and child depend on him (Comment - his estranged wife is chasing him thru the courts for child support)
• He's sorry (Comment - if you have followed this thru the years you will know that the only sorrow is for his own plight. He has shown time and time again a total insensitivity to the plight of the victims family.)

[Mike Ayling]

PRICELESS!

7 News item. It demonstrates the sort of arguments that his legal team have had to present in the absence of any real defence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQnwU8Z4ETI


His desperate pleadings include:

• He will be hanged, treated unwell, differently
• The 18 months he spent in gaol before the court finally allowed him bail is sufficient.
• His crime was inunintentional (Comment - no, just driving drunk at 142kph in dark evening city streets without a license!)
• The victims had been drinking
• His wife and child depend on him (Comment - his estranged wife is chasing him thru the courts for child support)
• He's sorry (Comment - if you have followed this thru the years you will know that the only sorrow is for his own plight. He has shown time and time again a total insensitivity to the plight of the victims family.)

Its just the lawyer doing his job!

Mike

[ColinOldnCranky]

Its just the lawyer doing his job!

Mike

Totally agree. His legal teams have had zilch of substance to work with. And so have just done what they can to defer extradition, perhaps in the hope that either Indian or Australian authorities would give up.

[find_bruce]

I reckon he won't come here due to Covid. And if by some chance he does he'll get the usual slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf and sent on his way.

While cynicism is usually well placed drunk + significant speed + death usually results in a lengthy prison sentence. Being on the lamb will only add to that

[piledhigher]

I reckon he won't come here due to Covid. And if by some chance he does he'll get the usual slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf and sent on his way.

While cynicism is usually well placed drunk + significant speed + death usually results in a lengthy prison sentence. Being on the lamb will only add to that

[mikesbytes]

There's also the issue of the other laws broken such has flying out of Australia using someone else's passport

[find_bruce]

[ColinOldnCranky]

Today is the day that arguments are to be heard on whether or not the recent court recommendation to extradite be put to executive government. (A stay on putting it to Exec Gov was granted a couple of weeks ago.)

If anyone happens across any news of this (today's session, not prior stuff), pls post a link here.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Has anyone seen anything about the lifting of the temporary stay referred to in my post of 20 September?

[ColinOldnCranky]

The court has recommended that he be extradited. My understanding is that the court was to hear, on 20 September, arguments on whether that recommendation be put to executive (ie relevant beauracrat or politician sign the papers). However I never found anything reported on that hearing so I believe that, once again, a court date has come and gone with the action kicked to an unstated later date.

Well, it's now reported that "Puneet Puneet extradition adjourned again" indefinitely. Which I assume is the hearing of arguments mentioned above.

Will this thing ever end?

The latest on this never ending saga can be read at puneet-puneet-extradition-adjourned-again

[redsonic]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

[Shred11]

That’s crazy. The offender is wasting the best years of his life dealing with legal problems and the constant stress of having all this hanging over him. If he hadn’t run away from the Australian legal system, he would have served his time and been a free man for years now.

It reminds me of the Christopher Skase saga. “The Skase in Spain stays mainly off the plane”.

[ColinOldnCranky]

I just noticed that this thread has more views than that of The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread. And in less than two thirds the time.

Who'da thunk?

I guess I'd better keep on reporting on developments.

[ft_critical]

I just noticed that this thread has more views than that of The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread. And in less than two thirds the time.

Who'da thunk?

I guess I'd better keep on reporting on developments.

BNA's own soap opera thread.