Delhi High Court reserves order on Suresh Kalmadi's Olympic trip

The Delhi High Court reserves order for tomorrow on a plea seeking to restrain  sacked CWG Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi from attending the London Olympic Games.

Last Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had sought the reply of Suresh Kalmadi to a plea for stopping him from going to London for the 2012 Olympics and had asked him not to advance his slated July 26 departure for it.

The plea made by advocate Rahul Mehra sought the court's direction to restrain Kalmadi from going to London on the ground that he was facing trial in a corruption case and cannot be allowed to represent the country in an international event.

Issuing notice to Kalmadi, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought his reply to Mehra's pleas within three days.

The bench asked Kalmadi, who is scheduled to leave for the games on July 26 as the President of the Asian Athletes Association and also the Member Council of International Association of Athletes Federation, not to leave the country prior to his scheduled date of departure.

Issuing notice also to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which is headed by Kalmadi as its president, the bench, in its order, said, "Issue notice to respondents (IOA and Kalmadi)... He (Kalmadi) is not going to leave the country before his scheduled date of July 26."

Mehra had objected to Kalmadi's London sojourn, contending that he was going to attend the Games on public money and in violation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) code of ethics.

On July 13, a special CBI court had allowed Kalmadi to go to London from July 26 to August 13 for the 2012 London Olympics.

Appearing for Kalmadi, senior counsel Rajiv Nayyar had told the bench that his client was leaving for London Olympics on his individual capacity and not in his official capacity as IOA president.

"He is not representing the government. He is going in his individual capacity as he is being invited there," Nayyar replied to the court's query that as to in what capacity he was going to London.

Countering the arguments of Kalmadi's counsel, Mehra had said as a IOA president, Kalmadi was, in January and February 2012, given two undertakings to be on prolonged absence from IOA and not to interfere into its day-to-day affairs after a letter from the IOC had asked him to comply with its code of ethics.

Mehra had pointed out that Kalmadi had been behind bars for nine months for his alleged role in a corruption case and the IOC charter bars such persons from attending its events. The advocate sought the court's directions to restrain Kalmadi from attending the London Olympics 2012 saying "Kalmadi is indirectly representing IOA in the Olympic games..."

The Lok Sabha MP and 10 others have been charge-sheeted by the CBI under various provisions of the PICK and the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly "illegally" awarding a contract to install Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Swiss Timing, causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.