NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday allowed sacked Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi to travel to London but restrained him from attending the July 27 Olympics opening ceremony. He may be mistaken for an official representative, the court said, and that would be “contrary to national interest”.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also asked the government to send the HC judgment to the International Olympic Committee and the International Association of Athletics Federations to make them “aware of the events…taking place here”.

Allowed to attend IAAF meet

The Delhi HC’s restraining order on Suresh Kalmadi from attending the July 27 Olympics opening ceremony amounted to declaring the sports czar a potential national embarrassment, many feel.

The court also referred to fears that in this age, “activities of citizens of one nation when in another country can easily cause serious embarrassment to the government of their own country as well as their fellow citizens”.

In a press release, Kalmadi claimed on Wednesday that he had never sought permission to attend the opening ceremony from the court and only wanted to attend the International Association of Athletics Federations meeting.

“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,” said the division bench as it declined Kalmadi the permission to attend the inauguration of the greatest sporting spectacle on earth.