India, Feb. 14 -- In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Friday held that the spectrum allocated to telecom service providers is not an asset to be subjected to proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The decision will have ramifications in the telecommunications sector, where telecom firms such as Aircel Group of Companies have invoked a moratorium on the basis of a voluntary corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for restructuring of their assets.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar ruled that the Union Government is the owner and trustee of spectrum on the one hand, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the regulator on the other, and...