AN UBER driver serving time for killing a devoted dad in a hit-and-run incident has succeeded in a legal bid to have his driving ban reduced.

Kunathilinghan Mohanthas, 48, was given a seven-and-a-half-year jail term for driving his car into Christopher Hanton, 40, in Glasgow, on August 5, 2023.

He caused Mr Hanton to fall and smash his head on the ground which caused him to lose his life.

Mohanthas was given a prison sentence after appearing before judge Lord Clark at the High Court in Kilmarnock earlier this year. He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide.

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As well as sending him to prison, Lord Clark banned Mohanthas from driving for a period of 13 years and nine months.

Lawyers for Mohanthas believed Lord Clark had made an error in deciding the length of the ban. In passing the prison term, Lord Clark said the sentence given to him had been discounted from 11 years because he had pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was entitled to a reduced term.

However, Lord Clark did not apply a similar discount to the driving ban.

Lawyers for Mohanthas then went to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh to argue that the driving ban given to their client should have been shorter in length.

On Tuesday, judge Lord Doherty, who sat alongside his colleague Lord Armstrong, upheld solicitor advocate Brian Fitzpatrick’s submission. Mr Fitzpatrick told the court that case law showed that Lord Clark should have applied a discount to the driving ban.

The judges agreed with the submission and passed a new ban - Mohanthas will now be banned from driving for 10 years and seven months.

Lord Doherty said: “This ground of appeal is well founded.”

The high court had previously heard how Mr Hanton, from Chryston, North Lanarkshire, had been on a night out with friends in Glasgow city centre when he ordered a taxi on the Uber app just after 10pm.

Mohanthas arrived to collect him in George Street but when Mr Hanton got into the back seat, the driver then got out himself and told Mr Hanton to get out.

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After leaving the back seat, the court heard Mr Hanton "approached the rear of the taxi and struck it with an open hand."

He then walked around to the front of the car by which time Mohanthas had begun performing a three-point turn.

Passersby came to Mr Hanton's aid and he was taken to hospital. However, he did not recover from his head injury and died on August 9 - just days before his 41st birthday.

Passing sentence, Lord Clark said: "Mr Hanton walked round to the front of the vehicle and stood within the road.

"Your vehicle was stationary in the middle of the road. You then drove it forwards.

"The agreed narrative explains that to complete the three-point turn you had to steer to the right but instead you made a sudden turn to the left, towards Mr Hanton who was struck by the front of the vehicle, causing him to fall backwards and strike his head on the roadway.

"The CCTV footage shows how he was hit. You did not stop but instead continued by steering to the right again, completed your turn and drove off from the scene."

The court also heard how the Uber driver regretted his actions.