In order to ensure that people affected by cancer are identified early and receive proper treatment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed 19 states and union territories to declare cancer a notifiable disease.
Based on the recommendation made in a parliamentary standing committee report, it was stated that 17 states and union territories had already made this declaration, and the Supreme Court issued this directive to the remaining 19 states.
In this regard, a public interest petition was filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of renowned doctor Anurag Srivastava. It stated that although cancer cases in India are increasing at an alarming rate, there is no system of making it a mandatory notifiable disease, so there are no proper data on the disease burden, and there is also a lack of adequate monitoring for those affected. As a result, there has been a policy paralysis in dealing with the growing cancer epidemic.
Thus, failing to declare cancer as a mandatory notifiable disease amounts to a serious abdication by the government of its constitutional duty under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. This is because it not only denies equal treatment to citizens in similar circumstances, but also undermines their fundamental right to health and to a dignified life.
Moreover, the lack of a uniform reporting system has led to severe disparities in cancer surveillance, resulting in delayed diagnosis, higher treatment costs, and poorer treatment outcomes for patients. In many states, patients are diagnosed only at an advanced stage of the disease, making treatment more difficult and expensive.
Under the Constitution, although health is primarily included in the State List, the authority to report diseases rests equally with both the Central and State governments.
Therefore, he had requested that authorities be instructed to declare cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’ at the national level, and that an integrated cancer digital registry be created, similar to the ‘Co-WIN’ digital platform developed during the coronavirus outbreak to maintain data on infected persons and those who received vaccinations.
This petition came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Then, Additional Solicitor General Anil Koushik, appearing for the Central Government, said, “Health is included in the State List. Even so, based on the recommendation stated in the Parliamentary Standing Committee report, 17 states and union territories have already issued notifications declaring cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’.”
On hearing this, the Chief Justice ordered, “The remaining 19 states and union territories should also consider the recommendation to declare cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’ and take an appropriate decision. The states must also file their response petitions in the Supreme Court regarding this.”