Chennai, February 27 Sankgeetha Vijay, the wife of actor-politician and TVK founder Joseph Vijay Chandrasekar, has filed a petition in a court here seeking divorce.
She has accused her husband of having an extramarital affair with an actress and of subjecting her to "persistent mental cruelty, neglect, and abandonment." If necessary, she said she would also name the actress as the second respondent.
Sankgeetha filed the petition in the jurisdictional family court in Chengalpattu District. The petition is likely to be heard on April 10.
In her plea filed under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, seeking divorce, she stated that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
The petitioner requested the court to conduct the entire proceedings in camera.
Unless the court passes an interim injunction restraining social media platforms, YouTube channels, Facebook pages, and other print/media outlets from hosting interviews, public discussions, or publishing any material related to these proceedings in print or digital media, in accordance with legal provisions, the petitioner and their family would be subjected to further humiliation and mental anguish, she submitted.
Since 2021, the respondent (Vijay) has "emotionally withdrawn," treated the petitioner with verbal disdain, and subjected her to "constructive abandonment, forcing her to live separately within the matrimonial home."
The respondent's continued association with the actress caused emotional distress to the petitioner and embarrassment to the children among their friends, social circle, and on social media. To avoid unnecessary publicity and protect the reputation of all parties, the petitioner is currently refraining from disclosing the name of the actress.
However, if warranted, the petitioner reserves her right and undertakes to name the said actress as the second respondent in the main petition.
Despite her efforts to avoid a public scandal, the petitioner, through her counsel, exchanged several notices and correspondences between August 2024 and February 2025, hoping for an amicable resolution.
In addition to issuing and exchanging legal notices, the petitioner made two earnest attempts to explore a mutually honourable exit through personal discussions with the respondent, the last of which took place on November 9, 2025. However, both attempts to reach a mutually acceptable and amicable settlement failed, despite the petitioner's intention to avoid causing any harm to the respondent's public standing.
The petitioner is therefore left with no alternative but to approach the court, she contended.
The marriage between Sankgeetha and Vijay was first registered on July 10, 1998, in the United Kingdom. Thereafter, a ceremonial marriage was performed on August 25, 1999, in Chennai, according to the petition.