Telecom operators do not own spectrum, cannot list the public resource as an ‘asset’ for insolvency or liquidation: Supreme Court

Supreme Court rules telecom operators cannot claim spectrum as an asset in insolvency, affirming it's a public resource owned by India.

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 conclusive of their ownership, as it only represents control over future economic benefits,” Justice Narasimha clarified the law.

The court said spectrum was a scarce natural resource owned by the people of India, with legal title vesting exclusively in the Union of India, which holds it in trust for the public.

“Licensees acquire no proprietary interest in spectrum,” Justice Narasimha, who authored the judgment, underscored.

The mere grant of spectrum under a licence does not mean a complete transfer of a finite natural resource from the Union government to a TSP. “It confers only a limited, conditional and revocable privilege to use spectrum, subject to statutory requirements, licence conditions and overriding public interest,” Justice Narasimha clarified.