The decision to disaffiliate India was taken on the first day of the IOC's two-day Executive Board meeting in Lausanne.
The IOC said that it decided to ban India as the IOA had failed to comply with Olympic Charter and also allowed a tainted official to contest elections for a top post.
IOC Director of Communications Mark Adams told a press conference in Lausanne that India was suspended "due to its failure to comply with the Olympic Charter and its statutes and failure to inform the IOC in a timely manner."
Pere Miro, Director of IOC relations with National Olympic Committees, said that the election process of the IOA was tarnished from the beginning. He said no Indian athlete will be allowed to take part in any competition under IOC jurisdiction during the suspension.
"The election process has been tarnished since the beginning. Many different interferences, many governmental rules and their own bad interpretation of IOA statutes," said Miro.
The decision was largely expected after the IOA decided to go ahead with the elections tomorrow under the government's Sports Code, defying the IOC's diktat to hold the polls under the Olympic Charter.
The IOC had repeatedly told the IOA not follow the government's sports code for the elections on the ground that it would be a violation of the Olympic Charter and compromise autonomy. But the IOA went ahead saying they were bound by the Delhi High Court order.
"The IOA has lost all the rights covered by the Olympic Charter. Today, for Indian athletes it is not possible to take part in any competition under IOC jurisdiction. The IOC has always had the intention to protect the athletes. But for the moment, there is no exception," Miro said. MORE
