Social activist questions credibility of ex-CJI J S Verma

Social activist Vineet Narain has questioned the credibility of former Chief Justice of India J S Verma who has been appointed to lead a commission constituted to give recommendations on amending laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in sexual assault cases.

"I have written a one-page letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and have got a receipt from the Prime Minister's Office. A copy of the letter has also been sent to Sushma Swaraj, leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who has demanded death penalty for those who commit heinous crimes against women," Narain told rediff.com.

Narain said that Verma failed in his duty as he had refused to name the person or persons who were pressurising him and his brother judges on the Jain-Hawala bench to withdraw from the case when he was chief justice of India in 1997.

Narain's main grudge against Justice Verma is that he did not look into the funding of terrorist outfits by those who prominently figured in the Jain-Hawala case.

"I want the removal of Justice Verma forthwith (from the panel) and a (special) session of Parliament to go into the atrocities against women," he said.