Hyderabad: A fresh row between the TS Wakf Board and the qazis in the state seems to be imminent with the Board deciding to intervene and regulate their fees.
Board chairman Mohd. Saleem on Monday said he plans to hold a meeting with the qazis to regulate their fees.
There are two categories of qazis in the state hereditary, and those appointed by the government. There is always confusion as to how much fees the qazi should collect for performing the nikaah.
The Anjuman-e-Qazath (council of qazis) had recommended naib qa-zis (deputy qazis) collect Rs 2,000 as fee in 2015 —Rs 1,200 from the family of the groom and '800 from the bride’s side. The naib qazis are appointed by the sadr qazi (head qazi) and given the responsibility of performing the nikaah. They hand over the prescri-bed fee to the sadr qazi and keep anything over and above it for themselves. They also don’t have any fixed salary. There are complaints regarding the excess money demanded by the naib qazis for various works, including performing the nikaah and issuing the ‘nikahnama.
Following complaints, the Wakf Board decided to hold a meeting with all the Qazis next week to resolve the issue.
Qazi Mir Quadir Ali, president, Anjuman-e-Qazath, says that there are no issues if the Wakf Board wants to hold a meeting. “Let me make it clear that the Board has no right to fix the fees. They lost the case in court and we will decide the quantum of fees,” he said. If anyone has problems regarding the collection of high fees by naib qazis, they can lodge complain with the Anjuman, he added.
“People complain about the fees, but sometimes, the naib qazis have not charged a single paisa taking into account the economic condition of the family,” he said.
