The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has remained firm on its demand to keep out officials against whom charges have been framed in a court of law and given the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA) till Oct 31 to ammend its constitution and conduct fresh elections by Dec 15 to pave way for its return to the Olympic fold.
"The IOC is well aware of the difference in the Indian legal system between charge-sheeted persons and charge-framed persons and has never requested that the clause initially proposed applies for charge-sheeted persons. Therefore it is reiterated that the initial wording is aimed to apply for anyone charge-framed by a court in India," the IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper said in a letter to the IOA.
The IOC executive board during its meeting in Buenos Aires, Wednesday, decided that the ban on IOA will continue if it does not change its constitution to keep out charge-sheeted individuals.
The IOA, during its Special General Meeting here last month, refused to incorporate the contentious IOC-proposed clause that would have barred charge-sheeted individuals from holding any post and suggested an alternative that would affect only convicted officials.
The IOC in its letter to the IOA said the key provision of barring individuals, against whom charges have been framed in court, was ignored.
"...the IOC does fully respect the principle that 'until proven guilty, one is innocent'. However, what is at stake is the reputation of the Olympic movement which must not be tarnished," it added.
The IOC asks the IOA to act accordingly by meeting the set deadlines for constitutional changes and hosting fresh elections.
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"It is required that the suspended IOA includes the initial wording proposed by the IOC (or a very similar wording which would not dilute the meaning and the expected results and which would be submitted in advance to the IOC) with respect to both charge-framed and convicted individuals.
"This is pre-requisite for the IOC to approve the revised Constitution of the IOA. For that purpose, the suspended IOA should meet again in a General Assembly no later than October 31 and proceed with the required amendments," the IOC stated.
"Once this step in completed and the IOC can approve the new constitution of the IOA, the suspended IOA would be in a position to hold its Elective General Meeting as soon as possible thereafter and no later than December 15," it added.
The IOC also made it clear to the IOA that that the age and tenure restrictions proposed by it were applicable on not just the President, Secretary General and the Treasurer but should be made applicable to the entire Executive Council.
"Upon completion of the whole process...the IOC Executive Board would be in a position to consider lifting the suspension on the IOA," the IOC said.
"It is highly expected that the suspended IOA will act accordingly and seize this golden opportunity to show its readiness to implement the basic principles of good governance, ethics and integrity which must prevail within the Olympic movement," it added.
India was banned from the Olympics in December 2012 over the IOA's election process. Since then, the country's athletes have been barred from competing in international meets under the Indian flag.