Justice Verma served as the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC ) from 4 November 1999 to 17 January 2003 . He is known for having ' set the stage ' for justice in the 2002 Gujarat Violence . On 1 April 2002 Justice Verma recommended a CBI probe into the following five cases after taking the view that investigations were being hampered by extraneous considerations and people : Godhra , Gulbarg Society , Naroda Patiya , Best Bakery , and Sardarpura in Mehsana
Godhra
Godhra train burning
J. S. Verma