The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Delhi High Court order, which had held that the 2016 black money law cannot be allowed to operate with retrospective effect from July 2015 to book and probe offenders.

A vacation bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra stayed the May 16 order of the high court, which had restrained the Income Tax department from taking any action against VVIP chopper scam accused Gautam Khaitan, against whom a black money case has been lodged.

'Notice. The impugned order (of the high court) is stayed,' the bench said while agreeing to hear the appeal of the Union government against the high court order.

The bench issued notice to Khaitan and asked him to file his response to the government's petition within six weeks.

The Delhi High Court, in its interim order, had stayed the Centre's notification to make operational the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, with effect form July 1, 2015.