Important matters heard by Supreme Court on August 9

Important matters heard by the Supreme Court on Friday, August 9: * SC gave bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia who has been in jail for 17 months, sharply pulling up the lower courts and saying his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice.

* SC stayed a Mumbai college's decision banning 'hijab, burqa, cap and naqab' on the campus and said girl students must have the freedom to choose what they wear.

* SC refused to postpone the NEET-PG examination scheduled for August 11, saying it can't put the careers of two lakh candidates in jeopardy for five students who have filed the petition.

* SC extended its stay till November on the operation of the Allahabad HC order that allowed a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque complex adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura.

* Children from the Economically Weaker Section category must attend good schools, SC said while dismissing a plea against an order of the Bombay HC which quashed a February 9 notification of the Maharashtra government.

* SC stayed criminal proceedings against former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya in connection with case of a marital dispute involving his daughter, ex-MP Sanghmitra Maurya.

* SC dismissed a plea against the election of jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh as an MP from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib.

* It is high time the trial courts and high courts recognised the principle that "bail is rule and jail is exception", SC said while flagging that the courts below appear to "play safe" in matters of bail.

* The right to speedy trial and liberty are "sacrosanct", and prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become "punishment without trial", SC said.

* Citizens cannot be made to run from pillar to post in matters pertaining to life and liberty which is one of the most sacrosanct rights guaranteed by the Constitution, SC said. PTI ABA ABA NB NB