VIJAY Maharaj remains as secretary general of the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) while pundit Krishna Rambally continues as president general.
National executive election was held on Sunday during the conference of delegates. Rambally and Maharaj were nominated by 83 registered temples in good financial standing after which they appointed some 30-plus members to the central executive, Newsday was told. The presiding officer was attorney, Asaf Hosein.
Sunday’s election follows court action taken by two pundits against Rambally, Maharaj, Dharmacharya Dr Rampersad Parasram, President of the Pandits’ Parishad Navin Maharaj, and Secretary of the Pandits’ Parishad Rishi Maharaj.
The two pundits, Hardeo Maharaj and Teka Samnarine, sought an injunction to prevent the two from holding elections and continuing to act in the executive positions.
Last week, Justice Karen Reid dismissed their application and their substantive lawsuit.
Newsday was told the election steering committee gave a detailed report on correspondence with the two pundits and the alleged temples supporting them but said it did not receive a response from anyone.
The pundits claimed that under the SDMS’s constitution, that under the SDMS constitution, Rambally, as the then first vice president could have acted as president general until an election at the September Conference of Delegates in 2019.
They also claimed that Parasram could not be elected in consultation with the Pandits’ Parishad as the constitution requires that the Dharmacharya be a member of the national executive, which he was not.
They claimed that an election for Secretary-General should have taken place in September 2020, but Vijay Maharaj took up his father’s vacant position.
They also claimed that they were denied participation in the election for the Pandits’ Parishad, which took place in July instead of in August as is traditionally done before the national executive election.
In her ruling, Reid said although there were no nominations before the 2019 September Conference of Delegates, Rambally was properly installed in the post during the meeting.
On Vijay Maharaj, Reid ruled that although he was not properly elected after his father’s death, his acting in the position could not be faulted.
“I would decline to grant an interim injunction on this basis since he has been publicly acting in this role since 2019 without challenge and, the claimant’s undue delay in mounting a challenge is fatal to their application in this regard,”Reid said.
In terms of the allegations over the election of the Pandits’ Parishad, Justice Reid said the duo presented no evidence to properly challenge it.
The pundits were represented by Vashist Maharaj, Nehanda Pierre, Vanita Ramroop, Sunil Seecharan, Amit Jaggernauth and Anand Mahabir. The acting executive members were represented by Rishi Dass, SC, Vijaya Maharaj and Varin Gopaul-Gosine.
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