HC bars Kalmadi from Olympics opening ceremony
A Bench of acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw barred Kalmadi from leaving the country till July 27, the day on which the opening ceremony is to be held. However, the Bench said he could go to London after the opening ceremony on the condition that he would not attend any event in an official capacity.
“Having regard to the fact that Kalmadi was associated with the International Olympic Committee 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. Therefore, we are not allowing him to attend the opening ceremony,” the Bench said.
Quoting a Supreme Court order, the Bench held that in the age of information technology, news travels very fast and therefore, even if Kalmadi was travelling in a personal capacity, his actions may cause embarrassment to the nation.
The court passed its order on a PIL filed by lawyer Rahul Mehra seeking to restrain Kalmadi from going to London for the Olympics in view of the fact that he was facing trial in a corruption case related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games and could not be allowed to represent the country at an
