JUDGMENT 1. The Petitioner before us has been convicted of an offence under sec. 186, I. P. C., in that he obstructed a public officer in the discharge of his duty. The public officer in question is a Canongoe appointed by a settlement officer in connection with the settlement of certain khas mehal lands belonging to Government, and the question that arises in the first instance is whether this Canongoe is a public officer within the meaning of sec. 180, I. P. C., and whether he was obstructed in the discharge of his public functions. The Deputy Legal Remembrancer on behalf of Government has urged, relying upon sec. 45 of the Survey Act, V of 1875, B. C., that the Canongoe in question was employed in the discharge of one or other of the functions mentioned in that section. We are unable to adopt that view. Sec. 45 says : "If it shall come to the notice of the Collector at any time, or in any manner, that a doubt or dispute exists in respect to any boundary which at any time has been determined by a competent Court; or which has been laid down and shown on a map, in the course of a previous revenue survey or settlement, or other proceeding of a revenue officer for any special purpose and against which no objection has been preferred to any authority competent to decide upon such objection ; or which has been laid down by survey under this Act, the Collector may, if he thinks it desirable for any reason that the boundary so determined or laid down shall be relaid, proceed to relay the boundary in the manner prescribed in sec. 44 of this Act, and for the purpose of so relaying the boundary he may make any enquiries" and so forth. 2. No doubt it does appear that there was a decree of a Civil Court between Government on the one hand and the brother of the accused on the other but that was a decree in an ejectment suit, no boundary within the meaning of cl. (c), sec. 2. No doubt it does appear that there was a decree of a Civil Court between Government on the one hand and the brother of the accused on the other but that was a decree in an ejectment suit, no boundary within the meaning of cl. (c), sec. 45, between one property and another having been determined by the Civil Court; nor does it appear that in the course of a revenue survey or other proceeding by a revenue officer the boundary of this property had been laid down and that it has now become necessary to relay the boundary and it does not also appear that there was a previous survey under the Act within the meaning of cl. (c) of sec. 45. That being so, and it not being shown that the Canongoe in question when he went to drive some pegs in the land by way of demarcating the boundary of the khas mehal, was acting in the discharge of any public function within the meaning of sec. 186, I. P. C., we are unable to say that the conviction under that section is right. We accordingly set aside the conviction and sentence in this case. The fine, if paid, will be refunded.