( 1 ) THESE five transferred appeals arise out of five suits on the file of the Court of the District Munsif, Parvathipuram which suits along with some others were disposed of by a common judgment. The plaintiffs in all the suits are ratepayers owning house properties in Parvathipuram municipality. The suits are filed to recover some amounts paid by the plaintiffs to the Municipality under a levy which was subsequently found to be illegal and void. Subsequent to the levy in question by the Municipality in a representative capacity the ratepayers filed a suit O. S. No. 26 of 1967 on the file of the court of the District Munsif, Parvathipuram, for a declaration that the levy was illegal and void. The District Munsif s court decreed the suit and it was confirmed in the appeal filed by the Municipality in A. S. No. 11 of 1963 on the file of the court of the Subordinate Judge Srikakulam. Thereafter the present suits and other suits were filed by the ratepayers alleging that under the levy the Municipality collected the tax amounts illegally and that they made those payments under a mistake of law without knowing at that time that the levy was illegal and they came to know about the ille

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