As chairman of the National Human Rights Commission , Verma had written a five-page letter to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in which he indicted the Gujarat state government for its role in the 2002 violence in the state , and questioned the Nanavati-Mehta Commission 's credibility . In a 2008 interview , Verma criticized Vajpayee 's response to the letter : As stated by Verma , the NHRC report on the 2002 Gujarat violence noted two issues which smacked of discrimination . Whereas a reward of Rs 2 lakhs was announced for the next of kin of victims of the attack on Sabarmati Express , a similar reward for riot victims was Rs 1 lakh . Second , POTA was being applied to the Sabarmati Express incident , but not to the riots . According to Verma : Justice Verma was a strong believer in the Right to Information . Observing the 52nd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , Justice Verma said : " In a democracy , participatory role in governments can be realised only if the right to information exists so that the public can make an informed choice . " Justice Verma had also publicly stated that the judiciary should be brought within the ambit of the Right to Information Act 2005 : " To ensure transparency and accountability in public eye , I strongly feel that judiciary should be brought into the ambit of Right to Information Act . When hearing of all the cases is done publicly , decisions are pronounced publicly , the administrative actions of the judiciary , especially judicial appointments should be made open to public scrutiny , " Justice Verma told a BBC Hindi programme
attack on Sabarmati Express
Godhra train burning
J. S. Verma