Indian national Amenpreet Ratol was sentenced to two and a half years in jail by the Country Court of Victoria on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old driver pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious injury and leaving the scene of the accident in 2016.
At the time, he was driving without a valid licence and his cab registration had been suspended. Mr Rataul's student visa had been cancelled and the matter was being considered at the time of the incident.
He has already served 426 days in jail after being taken into remand in January 2018. This means that Mr Ratol will be eligible for release on parole next month after the expiry of his minimum 15-month jail term.
Mr Ratol was ferrying four passengers in his taxi when the incident occurred on Flinders Street in Melbourne at about 2.30 am on December 4, 2016.
The court heard that an argument broke out between the driver and one of the passengers, Trent Atkinson, over the best route to be taken to get to the south-eastern suburb of Cranbourne.
After which Mr Ratol got “flustered” and he ordered the group to step out of the cab when one of them tried to apply the car’s handbrake, which brought the taxi to an abrupt halt.
The 31-year-old passenger then took hold of his driver’s identification badge before hastily exiting the car, along with his group of friends. At this point, Mr Ratol accelerated and the car mounted the footpath, running over Mr Atkinson’s leg and shoulder, causing him “serious” injuries.
The cabbie then reportedly panicked and fled the scene. However, an hour later, he handed himself to the police.
Prosecutors accepted that Mr Ratol's actions were not intentional.
The court heard that Mr Atkinson's recovery had been a difficult one, leading to episodes of depression, which has affected his work as a horse track rider.
Judge Michael McInerney found that Mr Ratol had accepted responsibility and had shown "great remorse".
"This conviction will mean that given the policy of the present government that he will almost certainly be returned home and I'm told that is his wish," Judge McInerney said.
"Whatever aims he had in regard to a future in Australia are now well and truly gone."
Mr Ratol will most likely be deported to India after the end of his prison sentence.
