The Uttarakhand government has imposed an interim stay on the implementation of an order by its own drug licensing authorities that suspended the manufacturing licences of 14 products sold under the Patanjali Ayurved brand.

The government imposed the interim stay on Friday on the basis of a preliminary inquiry report of a high-level committee, a PTI report said on Friday, quoting Panjak Kumar Pandey, Ayush secretary in the Uttarakhand government.

The interim stay will effectively stall the implementation of an April 15 order from the Uttarakhand state drug licensing authority that suspended the licences accusing Patanjali Ayurved drug makers of running “misleading advertisements on various social media platforms”.

“The order of the suspension is illegal and should not have been passed by the licensing authority in the manner it has been passed,” the committee examining the matter has said in its report. The firm had challenged the order issued by the state licensing authority.

The committee has said in its report that the licensing authority had cancelled the licences “without following the procedure established by law,” the PTI report said. The authority had issued the order under sections of Indian drug laws that prohibit misleading advertisements.

The licensing authority had last month informed the Supreme Court — which is hearing the matter relating to misleading advertisements — that it had suspended the licences of 14 products that the firm has promoted as a treatment for high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular, and liver disorders, among other health conditions.

But Indian drug laws also require authorities to suspend licenses only after they have been served a “showcause” notice and granted 15 days to explain alleged wrongdoing. And a licensee whose license has been suspended or cancelled may also appeal to the state government within three months after receiving the suspension or cancellation order.

“It appears that the licensing authority’s April 15 suspension order was premature — perhaps issued without notice,” K.V. Babu, an ophthalmologist in Kerala, said.