Speeding Indian-origin driver wins appeal to get licence back in Scotland

The Indian-origin driver was jailed for four years in 2016 after he fatally knocked down a 71-year-old senior citizen

An Indian-origin driver jailed for four years in 2016 after he fatally knocked down a 71-year-old senior citizen has won a High Court appeal in Scotland to get his driving licence back earlier than the 10-year driving ban imposed at the time.

Sandeep Singh told the Glasgow court recently that he needed to be back on the road to expand his restaurant business.

The 36-year-old will have to pass an extended driving test before getting his licence back.

"I do not do this lightly. You need to be careful behind the wheel as (any further offending) you could be facing a very significant sentence. I hope we do not see you again," Judge Lady Rita Rae told Singh during a hearing covered by the local media this week.

According to the Glasgow Evening Times', Singh's lawyer told a previous hearing that he was in charge of the family's restaurant business due to the failing health of his parents.

The business now offered the opportunity of "franchising" in the UK and America.

Lady Rae had asked for further information to be provided about Singh and his family circumstances prior to the hearing.

Singh was jailed at the same court in January 2016 for causing the death of Billy Dunlop by dangerous driving.

The pensioner was crossing the road as he returned home from his local pub in the Darnley area of Glasgow when he was hit by Singh, who had been driving his BMW well above the speed limit for the zone.

Dunlop suffered injuries to his legs, arms, head and pelvis.

A hearing had initially taken place last month when his defence lawyer told the court how Singh's family ran a "successful" restaurant business and with both parents now of "ill health", he was in charge and needed to visit different premises by car.

The defence advocate added that Singh had also been a "useful member to society" on being freed from jail.