The NHRC led by Justice Verma brought a petition to the Supreme Court seeking retrial of the Best Bakery case and also four additional cases outside Gujarat after a local court had acquitted the accused . Justice Verma severely indicted the Government of Gujarat at the time of the riots . The NHRC report was quoted by the US when denying Narendra Modi a visa . The NHRC report on 31 May 2002 stated : " The tragic events in Gujarat , starting with the Godhra train burning incident and continuing with the violence that rocked the state for over two months , have greatly saddened the nation . There is no doubt , in the opinion of this Commission , that there was a comprehensive failure on the part of the state government to control the persistent violation of the rights to life , liberty , equality and dignity of the people of the state . It is , of course , essential to heal the wounds and to look to a future of peace and harmony . But the pursuit of these high objectives must be based on justice and the upholding of the values of the Constitution of the Republic and the laws of the land . That is why it remains of fundamental importance that the measures that require to be taken to bring the violators of human rights to book are indeed taken "
Godhra train burning
Godhra train burning
J. S. Verma