The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and all states on a public interest litigation seeking directions to declare cancer a “notifiable disease” across the country, with the aim of ensuring early detection, uniform reporting, and better patient care.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi took note of submissions made by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, appearing for petitioner Anurag Srivastava, a renowned doctor and former head of the Department of Surgical Disciplines at AIIMS, New Delhi.

The petition highlights what it describes as the failure of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and several state governments to notify cancer as a notifiable disease, despite its rapidly growing burden in In

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