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. (Section 129).
If upon being so commanded, such assembly does not disperse, any executive Magistrate or police officer referred to above may proceed to disperse it by force and may require the assistance of any male person for the purpose of dispersing it, and may arrest and confine the persons forming part of the assembly. (Section 129).
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
If such an assembly cannot be dispersed even by force, the executive Magistrate of the highest rank present may cause it to be dispersed by the armed forces. (Section 130). The officer commanding the troops shall obey such requisition of the Magistrate but do as little injury to person and property as may be consistent with dispersing the assembly and arresting and detaining such persons. (Section 130).
No prosecution shall be instituted against a Magistrate or police officer ordering force to be used in dispersing an unlawful assembly without the sanction of the Central Government where such person is an officer or member of the armed forces and without the sanction of the State Government in any other case, and they shall be deemed to have committed no offence if they act in good faith. (Section 132).