Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed three retired civil servants to the Central Information Commission.

The three have “spent decades perfecting the art of secrecy,” according to a skeptical article in The Hindustan Times by Aloke Tikku.

The appointments will bring a full complement of members to the commission for the first time 2005, when the Right to Information Act was passed. Nine of the 10 commissioners will be ex-civil servants.

The three commissioners being appointed are:

• Divya Prakash Sinha, retired Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, who for years headed the intelligence bureau’s counter-terrorism division.
• Amitava Bhattacharya, formerly of the Indian Administrative Service, retired Chairman, Staff Selection Commission, and
• Bimal Jhulka, former Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

According to a study released by the RTI Assessment and Advocacy Group (RAAG) in 2014, nearly 60% of all information commissioners across the country were retired civil servants.

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