The Mizo Chiefs Council, a body of 309 chiefs, has moved the Supreme Court demanding the restoration of hereditary absolute administrative control over ancestrally demarcated territories in Lushai Hills, or a compensation of Rs 500 crore from the Centre for occupying their land since 1954. Historically, chiefs of Lushai Hills in Mizoram ruled over ancestrally demarcated territories, imposed various kinds of taxes on people living on their respective territories, and even granted pardon to accused in criminal cases. The British annexed Lushai Hills in 1895 and whittled down their powers but allowed them to function like rulers of princely states in other parts of the country. After Independence, Lushai Hills was made a part of Assam. In 1951, the Assam Autonomous (Constitution of District Council) Act was enacted, creating six autonomous districts, including Lushai Hills. Three years later, the Assam Lushai Hills (Acquisition of Chiefs' Rights) Act was passed and the state took over the chiefs' traditional rights over the territories and gave compensation equivalent to 10 harvest years' revenue to each. Over the years, the hereditary chiefs have lost their traditional sources of revenue through control over territories and have almost been reduced to a state of poverty. In 1999, the Mizo Chiefs Council wrote to the PM demanding Rs 509 crore as just compensation for the loss of administrative and financial control over their ancestrally demarcated areas.