Facts: The appellants' lands situated in village Nipani Jawalka, District Beed, were acquired by the State for the construction of Village Tank No. 2. The notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, was published with the last date of publication being 11.07.2005. The Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO) awarded compensation at Rs.690/- per Are, treating all lands as dry lands. On reference, the Reference Court enhanced the rates to Rs.2000/- per Are for non-irrigated lands and Rs.2500/- per Are for irrigated lands. The appellants sought further enhancement, relying on sale instances from neighboring villages and asserting that the Reference Court erred in determining the notification date and land quality. Furthermore, a dispute arose regarding statutory benefits for a six-year period during which the references remained unregistered due to non-payment of deficit court fees.Procedural Posture: These are First Appeals filed under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, challenging the common judgment and award dated 02.05.2015 passed by the Reference Court.Issue: 1. What is the correct date of the Section 4 notification for determining market value? 2. Whether the compensation awarded by the Reference Court was adequate based on the provided sale instances? 3. Whether the appellants are entitled to statutory benefits and interest for the period the references were pending registration due to delayed payment of court fees?Holding: 1. The last date of publication, 11.07.2005, is the relevant date. 2. Yes, enhancement is warranted; the rate is fixed at Rs.2922/- per Are for dry land and Rs.4383/- per Are for semi-irrigated land. 3. Appellants are denied statutory benefits for the period of delay attributable to them (18.01.2008 to 17.06.2011) but are entitled to benefits for the subsequent period (17.06.2011 to 11.08.2014) where the delay was attributable to the State or Court.Reasoning: The Court found that the Reference Court erroneously used the first date of notification (13.01.2005) instead of the last date of publication (11.07.2005) as per Section 4(1). Regarding valuation, the Court accepted Exhibit-22 (a sale instance from the adjacent village Pachegaon) as the most suitable exemplar, fixing the dry land rate at Rs.2922/- per Are. Following the principle that irrigated land is valued at 1.5 times the dry land rate, the semi-irrigated rate was fixed at Rs.4383/- per Are. On the procedural delay, the Court held that while claimants must bear the consequences of failing to pay court fees, they cannot be penalized for administrative delays by the Collector or SLAO in referring the matter once the fees are paid. Rental compensation was awarded at 9% per annum from possession until notification, following Supreme Court precedents.