Pictures of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Bobde riding the Harley Davidson Limited edition CVO 2020 in his hometown Nagpur has gone viral on the internet. In the pictures, the bike enthusiast was seen trying out the high-end bike which belonged to the son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonba Musale from the Orange city.
Meanwhile, it has now come to the fore that CJI Bobde was not aware that the bike belonged to the BJP leader's son. A dealer from the city had taken him to have a look.
Sources told TOI journalist, "CJI S A Bobde said he wanted to buy one after retirement and had asked a dealer at Nagpur to show him one. Dealer had sent him this bike and CJI took a feel of it without riding it." "The CJI does not even know whose bike was it, the sources said. He does not even know any political leader's son owning it. He just wanted to have a look at the bike, being a bike enthusiast through his life," he added.
CJI Bobde had infact gone to a tree plantation programme since the venue was nearer to the dealer's shop, he went to have a feel of the bike. "CJI was at an official tree plantation programme. Since the venue was nearer to the Dealer's shop, he had sent a bike to allow CJI to have a feel of it," the sources said. "CJI does not even know who the owner of the bike is," sources told the journalist.
CJI Bobde had earlier expressed his fondness for motorcycles. He had said that he used to ride a Bullet manufactured by Indian company Royal Enfield. Speaking to IANS, Justice Bobde talked about his love for bikes. "I like to ride bikes. I used to have a Bullet," Mr Bobde said when asked about his special interest and preferred motorcycle brand.
In 2019, he had met with an accident while test-riding a motorcycle. He had reportedly fractured his ankle. The accident had kept him away from his court duties as well as the Supreme Court Collegium meetings.
