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21. At this juncture, it is necessary to examine Section 160 CrPC in light of Section 50 of the PMLA to ascertain if there are any inconsistencies between the two. Section 160 CrPC is quoted hereunder:

"160. Police officer's power to require attendance of witnesses.--

(b) retain in his custody any such records for a period exceeding three months, without obtaining the previous approval of the Joint Director."

23. Section 160 of the CrPC provides for the power of a police officer to require attendance of witnesses. At the same time, Section 50 of the PMLA deals with power of the authorities under the PMLA regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence. Section 50 provides that the authorities shall have the power to enforce attendance of „any person' and shall also have the power to summon „any person‟ whose attendance is considered necessary for the purpose of investigation. The proceedings under Section 50 are statutorily considered to be civil in nature and the persons so summoned are bound to attend and bound to state the truth before the authorities. Therefore, while Section 160 of CrPC is limited to witnesses (who may become accused in the future), Section 50 operates on a larger/broader level and includes the power not only to summon witnesses but to summon and enforce the attendance of any person (which would necessarily women). On a plain reading of Section 160 of the CrPC, it is clear that it empowers only a "police officer" which has a specific meaning in criminal jurisprudence who is making an investigation under Chapter XII of the CrPC and has specific responsibilities under the CrPC as noticed above. Further, Section 160 of CrPC, in line with the overall scheme of the CrPC of territorial limitations, provides for a limitation on only such persons who are within the limits of territorial jurisdiction of such police officers, police station or any adjoining station, can be required for attendance under the said provision. The PMLA while providing for a similar power of requiring attendance of any person - including witnesses, has not imposed any such territorial limitation as the scheme of the PMLA does not permit the same. Further, Section 160 of the CrPC provides for exception by way of a proviso which is applicable to women and children. On the other hand, Section 50 of the PMLA while providing for a similar power of requiring attendance of any persons including witnesses, does not provide for such exception despite providing for powers of compulsory attendance. In light of the above, it is amply clear that Section 50 of the PMLA and Section 160 of the CrPC cannot operate together and there appears to be a clear inconsistency between the two. It is also clear that there would be a difference in the evidentiary value of the evidence collected under Section 50 of the PMLA as opposed to the evidence collected in Section 160 of the CrPC. To apply both the provisions together would be statutorily and logically not possible and may lead to absurdity.

32. On the issue of the applicability of Section 160 of the CrPC to investigations under the PMLA, specifically with regard to the protection granted to a woman, and not with regard to the territorial limitation, different Hon‟ble High Courts have rendered different findings. The Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat in Foziya (supra) has held that the proviso to Section 160 CrPC would apply but Hon‟ble High Court of Judicature in Madras in Nalini Chidambaram (supra) has held that the said protection would not be available. In my view, considering that Section 50 of the PMLA specifically refers to „any person‟ which would include a woman, the special provision in Section 160 CrPC available to a woman would not apply in view of the overriding provision in Section 71 of the PMLA. To apply proviso to Section 160 CrPC concerning a woman to a summons issued under Section 50 of the PMLA would amount to curtailing the powers of the authorized officer under the PMLA, which extends to all persons and has not been statutory limited either on the basis of territory or on the basis of the gender of the person.

33. Though the said judgment can be based solely on the above finding, it may be recorded that the protection under Section 160 of CrPC to a woman is extended in order to keep women and children away from police stations and police company considering the peculiar condition of police stations in the country. It may further be noted that police station has a specific statutory meaning and when any person is summoned under Section 50 of the PMLA, including a woman, such woman is not summoned to a „police station‟ as envisaged under Section 160 of the CrPC. As per the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nandini Satpathy (supra), the protection to a woman under Section 160 CrPC serves a particular purpose in the context of police stations and the police powers. The said purpose is absent from an investigation under the PMLA which are conducted by high level officers as defined under Section 48 of the PMLA, headed by the Director who is appointed under Section 25 of the Central Vigilance Commission Act.