NEW YORK: In a unanimous decision issued July 1, the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, held valid and proper the rules and procedures under which the Hindu Temple Society of North America, Inc. has operated since its formation. The decision, in the case of Venigalla v.

Nori, is a clear vindication of the Temple’s board of trustees and a forceful rebuke to the six petitioners who had challenged the authority of the Temple’s board of trustees and demanded that trustees be chosen through elections. The Ganesh Temple in Flushing, Queens has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle over the last several years where in a group of six petitioners had originally challenged the existing Board of Trustees for not holding elections according to the Temple’s 1970 bylaws.

A New York Court had subsequently ordered that elections be held for the Board under court-specified supervision. Interestingly, the existing Board of Trustees led by Dr. Uma Mysorekar won the elections hands down. Following an appeal and the present court order, a Temple communiqué explains that the Ganesh Temple is incorporated as a "Free Church" under Article 9 of the New York Religious Corporations Law (RCL).

As a free church, the Temple welcomes the public to worship at its Temple, but is governed by a board of trustees that, according to law, is self-perpetuating. With a self-perpetuating board, the trustees themselves are responsible for filling vacancies with new trustees chosen from the community. A self-perpetuating board facilitates continuity and the participation in Temple affairs by high-level people, while avoiding the tensions and disruptions associated with regular elections.