In Brief
A public servant (Subhash Kumar) challenged an order that relegated him from the Bihar Administrative Service to the Bihar Education Service. The Supreme Court held that such an order cannot be passed without giving the affected person a fair hearing and without following natural justice principles. The Court found that relegation with adverse consequences amounts to a penalty requiring procedural safeguards. Since no such relegation was authorized by the prior court order allowing the initial transfer, the Court set aside the impugned order and allowed the petition, reinforcing that administrative action must remain within judicial authority limits.
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