The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday withdrew its notification inviting applications from across India to fill up 33 non-gazetted posts in district courts of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, PTI reported. The vacancies are for stenographers, typists, compositors, electricians and drivers.

The original advertisement was issued by High Court Registrar General Sanjay Dhar on December 26, 2019. The deadline to submit applications was January 31, 2020. “It is hereby notified for information of all concerned that the advertisement Notice of December 26, 2019, whereby applications were invited for different posts in Non-Gazetted category in the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir stands withdrawn with immediate effect,” Dhar said in a fresh notification on Tuesday evening.

Officials did not provide a reason for withdrawing the notification. However, there were protests from various political parties demanding reservation for local residents in government jobs in the two Union territories.

The notification came months after the Centre revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and split the state into Union territories.