Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Friday (February 13, 2026) laid down that telecom service providers (TSPs) do not own spectrum, a precious and finite public resource meant to be used for the common good of all, and cannot include it among their pool of “assets” for insolvency or liquidation.
A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Atul Chandurkar held that Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) excludes any assets over which a corporate debtor has no ownership rights.
“Mere recognition of spectrum licensing rights as an intangible asset by TSPs in the financial statements is not…