NEW DELHI, July 25:
Suresh Kalmadi was today barred from attending the opening ceremony of the London Olympics and later from taking part in any other event in any official capacity with the Delhi High Court saying his presence there would embarrass the Government.
On his part Kalmadi, sacked chairman of the CWG Organising Committee, said he had not sought permission for attending the opening ceremony of the Games on July 27.
“Having regard to the fact that Kalmadi was associated with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for quite sometime, his presence in the ensuing Olympic Games, particularly at the opening ceremony, may be viewed by one and all concerned as representing India and would be contrary to the national interest,” the High Court said.
“Therefore, we are not allowing him to attend the opening ceremony,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice R S Endlaw said in his order on a plea filed by lawyer Rohit Mehra.
Kalmadi responded by saying, “I was never planning to attend the opening ceremony of the London Olympics 2012 and I never sought this permission in any case.”
The court also made it clear that Kalmadi, will not leave India till July 27 and so far as, his participation in the council meeting of International Association of Athletes Federation (IAAF) is concerned, a decision may be taken by the foreign sports body.
Kalmadi, who is President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), in his reply, had said that he will not be representing either the Indian government or any sports bodies of the country as he will participate in the IAAF’s council meeting as the President of Asian Athletes Association (AAA) and is entitled the watch the sporting mega event in his individual capacity.
“When we examine the matter from the national points of view, we find that the participation of Kalmadi in the council meeting of IAAF, which is one of the limbs of IOC, is not purely an individiual affair…
“We leave it to the discretion of IAAF to take a decision as to whether Kalmadi is entitled to participate in its council meetings,” the court said. (PTI)
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