Supreme Court directs states to consider classifying cancer as notifiable disease

The Supreme Court of India issued an order in a Public Interest Litigation (Writ Petition No. 1211/2025) directing the remaining States and Union Territories to consider classifying cancer as a notifiable disease, following recommendations by a Parliamentary Standing Committee to improve cancer data collection and reporting.

Who it concerns: The order concerns the Union of India, the remaining States and Union Territories that have not yet notified cancer as a disease, and the petitioner Anurag Srivastava.

What the document says

• The Court noted that 17 States and Union Territories have already notified cancer as a 'notified disease' based on the 139th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare.
• The Court directed the remaining States and Union Territories to consider the recommendations to classify cancer as a notifiable disease and take an appropriate decision.
• The Court ordered the filing of compliance affidavits.
• The matter was listed for the next hearing on 21.09.2026.

Also in the document

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended that classifying cancer as a notifiable disease would ensure mandatory reporting of cancer deaths, helping to create a robust database for incidence, prevalence, and risk factor analysis.
• The Committee suggested creating a 'CoWIN-like' web portal for real-time data collection, registration, and guiding patients through treatment and management.
• The Court observed that underreporting of cancer deaths is a major hurdle in data collection, often due to deaths being recorded as cardio-respiratory failure without mentioning the actual cause.