KEY POINTS
- Rajwinder Singh says he did not kill a woman found dead on a Queensland beach in late 2018.
- He was arrested in India late last year and now wants to return to Australia to "reveal all the details" to an Australian court.
- Asked why he had fled the country after the woman's murder, Mr Singh said he would "explain later".
The man accused of murdering 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley on a Queensland beach four years ago has told an Indian court he wants to return to Australia as soon as possible to face trial.
Rajwinder Singh, 38, swore in a "willingness statement" submitted to a Delhi court magistrate that he wished to formally waive his right to challenge extradition.
Mr Singh's decision avoids a legal battle that could have dragged on for years in India's clogged court system.
Mr Singh, an Australian citizen of Indian origin, told news agency AAP as he was being escorted to the court by police that he had a "message for Australians".
"I want to go back. It is the (Indian) judicial system that has been holding things up," said Mr Singh, who was accompanied by his father and mother at the court hearing.
"I did not kill the woman," he said, adding he wanted to "reveal all the details" to an Australian court.
Asked why he had fled the country after Ms Cordingley's murder, Mr Singh told AAP, "I will explain all that (later)".
He added cryptically: "There were two killers and two victims."
Toya Cordingley, a pharmacy worker and animal shelter volunteer, was found dead on Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, after taking her dog for a walk on 21 October, 2018. Source: Supplied / Queensland Police
Authorities had been searching for four years for Mr Singh who boarded a flight to India hours after police discovered Ms Cordingley's body half-buried in sand dunes.
Public prosecutor Ajay Digpaul, who told the court that Ms Cordingley's killing was a "heinous offence," said that Mr Singh's decision to waive extradition "is the best possible outcome".
Mr Singh's lawyers initially had said their client would fight extradition.
Unless the accused agrees to be extradited, extradition proceedings in India can be extremely drawn out.
The country has a logjam of millions of pending cases that makes justice extremely slow-moving.
Mr Digpaul told AAP he could give no "exact timeline" for when Mr Singh would be sent back to Australia as "things must move at their own speed".
But he said the extradition proceedings should "start moving".
"The case is almost finished as he is not contesting (extradition)," Mr Digpaul said.
Rajwinder Singh (right) and his father Amar Singh (left) walking to a court hearing in New Delhi on Saturday, 7 January, 2023. Rajwinder Singh waived his right to contest extradition at the hearing and said he wanted to return to Australia as soon as possible to face trial. Source: AAP / Penelope MacRae
The Indian government has already provisionally consented to Australia's call for Mr Singh's extradition but the request needed to be signed off by the court.
Mr Singh's waiving of his right to contest extradition means the court no longer has to hear evidence in the case compiled by Australian investigators before giving the green light for his return.
Ms Cordingley, a pharmacy worker and animal shelter volunteer was found dead on Wangetti Beach, north of Cairns, after taking her dog for a walk on 21 October, 2018.
Australian police said the she had suffered "visible, violent injuries".
Her dog was found tied up nearby.
Mr Singh, who worked as a nurse and lived in Innisfail, has a wife and three children in Australia.
Since his arrest, he has been housed in Delhi's Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison.
Mr Singh's cousin, who did not wish to be identified by name, told AAP that the accused "has faith in Australia's courts and the justice system".
Asked whether he believed his son was innocent, his father Amar Singh said to AAP: "The courts will decide."
Mr Singh, who was clean-shaven in Australia, allegedly disguised himself in India by growing a long, unkempt beard and donning a turban.
He allegedly evaded arrest by constantly shifting hideouts.
He was arrested just weeks after the Queensland government posted a record $1 million reward last November for information leading to his capture.
