In New Delhi, the father of Pragya Samal, who serves as a cook at the Supreme Court, has been pleasing the taste buds of judges and their families for years. However, the highlight of his life arrived when his daughter was honored by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and other judges for securing multiple scholarship offers from prestigious foreign law schools to pursue her LLM.
Pragya Samal received admission offers from Columbia Law School, Chicago Law School, Carey Law School, Berkeley Law School, and Michigan Law School. During her time at Amity Law School in Noida, she consistently topped the merit list in the three-year LLB course, earning her the gold medal. Berkeley Law School granted her a \(30,000 scholarship, while Michigan Law School increased it to \)50,000.
Expressing her preference, Pragya mentioned, “I am currently leaning towards accepting the offer from Michigan Law School due to the more favorable scholarship. I may need to secure additional sponsorship to complete my studies there.” The felicitation by CJI and Supreme Court judges symbolized a moment of gratitude from the top court towards her father’s dedicated service.
Pragya’s mother has limited formal education, while her father, Ajay Samal, originally from Sunapal village in Odisha’s Jajpur district, previously worked with the Aditya Birla group before joining the Supreme Court in 1996. Renowned for his culinary expertise, he has catered to the gastronomic preferences of numerous judges over the years.
Reflecting on Pragya’s achievements, CJI Chandrachud remarked to TOI, “It is truly impressive how working at the Supreme Court can open up so many opportunities for the children of the staff.”