In the absence of the officer in charge of a police station, an unlawful assembly cannot be commanded…

Under Section 148(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 129(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973), any Executive Magistrate or officer in charge of a police station or, in the absence of such officer in charge, any police officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector may command any unlawful assembly, or any assembly of five or more persons likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, to disperse. Accordingly, in the absence of the officer in charge, an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police cannot command dispersal as that rank is below Sub-Inspector.