The International Olympic Committee said the Indian Olympic Association must prevent tainted officials from holding posts in the future if it wants to overturn its current suspension.

The IOA was suspended from the IOC in December 2012 for not adhering to its own national constitution during elections and for electing Lalit Bhanot, jailed for more than 10 months last year on charges of corruption relating to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as its new secretary-general."The IOC has never questioned the principle that till one is convicted, one is innocent," IOC director general Christophe De Kepper wrote in a letter to the IOA, which the IOA made public on Saturday. "However, the IOC code of ethics clearly states that the Olympic parties must undertake to respect and ensure the respect of the IOC code of ethics which says in particular that they must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement."The IOA must therefore act responsibly and must adopt a clear wording in its revised constitution," the IOC said.The IOC, which is helping to draft a new IOA constitution, has said that a person charged with any criminal offence should not hold office even if the matter is still in court, drawing objections from the IOA on Friday.An Olympic suspension means a national body is ineligible for IOC funding, officials from the suspended federation are barred from attending international meetings and its athletes can't compete under the national flag at the Olympics.