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LPA 410/14 and connected matters Page 34

27. That the Central Government permitted change over as late as till 31.12.2003, i.e before the sixth pay commission recommendations (introducing CPF benefits to all those employed later, universally with effect from 01.01.2004). This aspect assumes critical importance, because the Central Government (and UGC) admit that all those who opted after the cut- off date (and many of them having opted for CPF earlier) have been granted benefits under the Pension Scheme. The ground realities with respect to the nature of benefits that accrue to CPF optees in comparison with GPF/Pension optees paints a stark picture. One should keep in mind that while opting for such schemes, employees cannot gaze into the crystal ball, as it were, and speculate whether the existing state of affairs would continue. At the time when these options were sought and given, those opting for CPF were reasonably certain that having regard to the nature of contributions and the rate of interest, the end package would compare favourably with Pension optees, with respect to returns earned at the stage of superannuation. In other words, when the options were given, these appellants were in employment; neither they, nor for that matter the respondents could have visualized a drastic fall in the interest rates, which severely undermined the CPF option and shrunk the ultimate lump sum CPF benefit available to these appellants. While examining whether a statute once valid and upheld as such on the ground of Article 14 ceases to be so due to later developments and with passage of time, the Supreme Court has declared in a number of judgments that the earlier declaration of validity or basis of classification cannot be the basis to deny the arbitrariness of the law, if it is proved to be so later (Refer to State of Madhya Pradesh Vs. Bhopal Sugar Industries (1964) 6 S.C.R. 846; Narottam Kishore Dev Varma and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Anr.