A reader from Sharjah asks: I have a cheque of Dh100,000 from someone whom I have loaned the amount. The person asked me to deposit the cheque after six months. Note that the cheque had the date when he handed it to me. After six months, I went to the branches of the bank in Dubai to encash the cheque, but the bank told me that I could not encash the cheque because it was more than six months old, and they asked me to tell the person who issued the cheque to renew the date. The bank's response came as a shock to me. I told the person who issued the cheque to either renew the date or give me a new cheque but he evaded me every time I went to him. My question is, can the bank reject the cheque six months after its date? How can I acquire the cash that I lent the person? Can I report the person to police under charges of dishonesty and fraud?

I would like to tell the questioner that he is the one who neglected his right when he kept the cheque for more than six months with himself.

Banks do not encash cheques issued before six months, only after taking the approval from the one who issued the cheque.

The questioner may not file a criminal complaint before the police regarding the cheque or complaint related to dishonesty and fraud because the nature of dealing between the questioner and the one who issued the cheque is civil and related to debt, so the jurisdiction shall be with the civil court. Therefore, I advise the questioner to file a case before the civil court to claim the value of the cheque.

Moreover, I would like to assure the questioner that if it is proved by the civil court that the questioner was right, it will oblige the debtor to pay the amount of cheque and it may imprison him if he refused to pay.

Questions answered by advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahar Advocates and Legal Consultants.