Chennai: The Madras High Court has recently observed that it was ‘unreasonable and unfair’ that the political representation of Tamilnadu in the Lok Sabha was brought down in 1967 because the State reduced its population by carrying out family planning measures.
The bench of Madras High Court of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi had observed that Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh faced unfair representation in the Lok Sabha since 1962.
The two States had managed to bring down their population and it was seen that Tamil Nadu, which had 41 Lok Sabha members in 1962 was reduced to 39 seats before the 1967 polls after Tamilnadu successfully reduced its population.
In its order, the court asked the Centre to see if the Lok Sabha representation of Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh be restored, or to see if the two can be compensated monetarily. The court pegged the monetary compensation to Tamilnadu at Rs 5,600 crore.