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Supreme Court orders 19 states, UTs to notify cancer
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the 19 states and Union territories that have not yet done so to declare cancer a 'notifiable disease' for early detection and better care. A bench…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the 19 states and Union territories that have not yet done so to declare cancer a 'notifiable disease' for early detection and better care. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant passed the order after being told that only 17 of India's 36 states and UTs have notified cancer, following a parliamentary standing committee's recommendation.
The court heard a public interest litigation filed by former AIIMS professor Dr Anurag Srivastava, who argued that the absence of uniform notification violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The bench asked the Centre why it cannot issue mandatory guidelines for all states, noting that health, while a state subject, needs a uniform policy. The court directed the remaining states to file compliance affidavits.
The Indian Opinion
The court is right to push for uniformity, but the narrative that states are simply dragging their feet ignores genuine capacity gaps in rural cancer registries. The petition also flags the dangerous spread of unscientific cures like Gomutra, which thrive where regulation is weak. A real test will be whether the 19 states notify cancer within the next six months and whether the Centre finally sets up a centralised digital registry as proposed.
Sources (2): thehindu.com, health.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
