"Just an accident", is how the defence lawyer for hit-and-run driver Puneet Puneet described the death of Queensland student Dean Hofstee, aged 19, in 2008 when Puneet smashed into him after drinking and driving at high speed in Melbourne.

Speaking in a Delhi court hearing the Puneet extradition case, Kanhaiya Kumar Singhal said Puneet’s crime was "not heinous in nature". He went on: “Yes a life was taken but it was not intentional. Accidents happen. It’s not as though it was a rape or murder,” he said.

Hit-and-run driver Puneet Puneet (right) leaving court with his uncle in Dehli on Friday. Credit:Amrit Dhillon

At this point in the proceedings in Patiala District Court, the prosecution lawyer Bhaskar Vali strongly countered the observation, saying sternly: “This is not a defence – ‘accidents happen’. He was drinking and driving and driving at 150 kilometres an hour. Why didn’t he take a taxi? Even India now has tough drunk driving laws. There have to be consequences and repercussions to every man’s act," said Mr Vali.

Some heated exchanges took place before Justice Gurmohina Kaur, who is hearing the case. The issue at hand was the defence counsel’s request for an inquiry to take place into Puneet’s mental state. Mr Singhal said Puneet was a mental health patient and that, on the grounds of medical unfitness, the extradition case against him should be withdrawn.