As per case facts, telecom service providers (TSPs), including Aircel Group entities, invoked the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) after failing to pay license dues to the Department of Telecommunication ... (DoT) for spectrum usage. DoT challenged the NCLT-approved resolution plan, arguing that spectrum could not be treated as a corporate debtor's asset under IBC. Appeals were subsequently filed to the Supreme Court. The question arose whether spectrum, or the right to use it under a license, can be treated as an 'asset' of the corporate debtor under the IBC, considering its nature as a sovereign natural resource and the specific telecommunication laws governing its allocation and use. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled that spectrum, although recorded as an 'asset' in TSPs' books, cannot be subjected to IBC proceedings. It held that spectrum is a natural resource owned by the Union of India in public trust, granting TSPs only a limited, conditional, and revocable privilege to use it, not ownership. The IBC framework specifically excludes assets not owned by the corporate debtor, and telecommunication laws constitute an exhaustive code governing spectrum, which cannot be overridden by IBC.