On December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a plea demanding cancer be declared a nationwide notifiable disease. A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices to the Union Health Ministry, State governments, and Union Territories. The petition was filed by Dr. Anurag Shrivastava, a retired AIIMS oncologist, and represented by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal. The petition pointed out that 90% of India's population is not covered by any organized cancer surveillance system. Mr. Bansal said, "Only 17 out of 36 States and Union Territories have declared cancer a notifiable disease under their public health laws." He added, "This inconsistency has created a dangerous patchwork system, leaving a vast majority of the country’s population without the benefits of mandatory cancer case reporting, which is the cornerstone of effective disease surveillance, early detection and centralised data-driven policy making." According to the plea, the lack of mandatory reporting has created a severe data gap. "Without mandatory reporting, India’s National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) operates with chronic and severe under-reporting," it said. It stressed that systematic cancer data compilation currently covers only about 10% of the population. The petitioner further argued, "Approximately 90% of India’s population remains outside the coverage of any systematic cancer data compilation and, by extension, the benefits of a cohesive national cancer control programme. This data deficit results in a gross underestimation of the national cancer burden, leading to inaccurate policy planning, misallocation of scarce resources, and an inability to effectively implement, monitor, and evaluate life-saving screening and early detection programs." Adding to the crisis is the spread of dangerous misinformation. The petition mentioned the promotion of unproven "remedies" like cow urine as cancer cures. The Supreme Court's notice to the Centre signals the beginning of efforts to address these critical gaps in India's cancer control system.