Saeed Al-Suraihi Okaz newspaper EVERYDAY local courts look into cases related to terrorism, money laundering, embezzlement of public funds, divorce, alimony, child custody in addition to a plethora of significant cases. However, Madinah District Court recently looked into a unique case which took the court two sessions to hear but left it unable to issue a final judgment. The case was adjourned for a third session which will probably be postponed for the same reason the previous two sessions were postponed: The defendant is on vacation and thus, unable to show up for the court date! The case I'm talking about is related to defamation. A mother lodged a complaint against a professor of Taibah University who, the mother claimed, defamed her daughter over the phone. The professor told the mother that she failed her daughter because she did not show up for final exams. She further told the mother that her daughter hadn't bothered to attend classes and spent her time elsewhere. The mother regarded these words defamatory as they questioned the ethics of her daughter. Enraged, the mother took the matter up with higher authorities and filed a complaint at the court. I think courts have enough cases to deal with and the last thing they need is a case which started over the phone with no witnesses. The university's regulations should have stipulated proper procedures to deal with such matters and resolve them inside the campus and not in the courts as such negative attention affects the reputation of the university. I also think the court should not have taken up the case and spent two sessions on it. It should have referred it back to the university to investigate whether the student sat for exams or not and whether she deserved a failing grade. If the university decides on the case and one of the parties still wants to go to court, the court should pick up where the investigations left off. It should not rely on words exchanged by two women over the phone. Nothing like this should have happened had the academic environment not lost its prestige and respect. Lack of trust and disrespect have become two rampant features on university campuses.
