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The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday restrained the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from taking any coercive action against fashion designer Nomi Ansari and another petitioner in a tax fraud case.

A two-judge bench of the SHC, headed by Acting Chief Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar, also issued notices to the FBR and other respondents, as well as the deputy attorney general, for May 23.

The bench further directed the concerned FBR official, who has registered the FIR against the petitioners, to be in attendance at the next hearing to explain his position.

Citing the secretary revenue division, chairman FBR and assistant commissioner inland revenue as respondents, famous fashion designer Muhammad Noman alias Nomi Ansari and his employee Imran Musil petitioned the SHC, impugning the registration of an FIR lodged against them on charges of allegedly committing tax fraud amounting to over Rs1 billion.

At a preliminary hearing, the counsel for petitioners Ahmed Masood, Muhammad Altaf and others argued that the impugned FIR was lodged on April 18, in violation of an interim order passed last month by the SHC in another petition filed by the designer, as well as being without lawful authority and jurisdiction.

He also submitted that an illegal raid was conducted on the petitioners’ premises, and the FBR had sealed it. Thereafter, the designer had challenged the same, and the SHC had suspended such sealing order last month.

The lawyers further argued that the petitioners were put on notice followed by summons in respect of the same issue and such summons were also impugned before the SHC which had suspended the same.

Originally published in Dawn, April 25th, 2025