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.