Maulana Azad- Najma Heptullah Morphed Pic: 13 Yrs On, CBI Says Photo Morphed But Not Clear Who Did It

Thirteen years after a photograph of Independent India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Najma Heptullah, presently the Governor of Manipur, appeared on an official publication, the CBI has repeated before the Delhi High Court that its probe has revealed that the photograph was morphed but it was not clear as to who was behind the morphing.

The CBI has told Justice Rajiv Shakdher that its probe has revealed morphing but what was not coming out clearly was the person responsible.

To this, the court said it would examine this aspect on August 6 when the CBI will produce before it the statements of the printer of the book on which the morphed photograph had appeared.

Way back in 2015, Heptullah had also told the Delhi High Court that the photograph is morphed but did not know who did it.

The morphed photograph appeared in a book titled "Journey of a Legend: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 1888-1958" by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in 2005 when it was headed by Heptullah.

 The photograph in question showed Maulana Azad, the founder president of ICCR, seated with Heptullah at her graduation even as Azad breathed his last on February 22, 1958 whereas Heptullah graduated only in May, 1958.

Maulana’s grandnephew Firoz Bakht Ahmed had, through his counsel Govind Jee, petitioned the high court saying the photograph was morphed at Heptullah’s instance.

The CBI recently told Justice Rajiv Shakdher that it will bring to court separately the statements given by Lalit Syal, the printer of the book.

The court noted the submission of CBI that “its investigation has revealed that the subject photograph has been morphed but what has not come through clearly in the investigation is as to who is responsible for morphing the photograph. This aspect of the matter will be examined on the next date of hearing after the statements are perused by the Court”.