Chennai:
The divorce case of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay and his wife Sangeetha Sornalingam was adjourned after she withdrew the case today. Sangeetha attended the proceedings through video-conferencing and submitted to the court her reasons for withdrawing the petition.
Back in February this year, Sangeetha had filed for divorce in a court in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpattu, stating that she wanted the marriage dissolved.
Vijay and Sangeetha’s marital dispute has witnessed several adjournments this year. On June 15, the proceedings had already been adjourned after Sangeetha indicated her intention to withdraw the petition. She had also appeared through video conferencing during that hearing and informed the court of her decision. The matter was subsequently posted for further hearing on August 7.
Last month, the family court deferred the proceedings after neither Vijay nor Sangeetha appeared before it. On earlier occasions as well, both remained absent, with their respective lawyers appearing on their behalf and informing the court that they faced difficulties in attending the proceedings in person.
Friday’s order formally closed the case after Sangeetha withdrew her plea.
Sangeetha had filed the divorce petition at the family court in Chengalpattu, seeking dissolution of her marriage with Vijay. In her petition, she cited irreconcilable differences between the couple as the basis for seeking divorce. She also sought permanent alimony and requested permission to continue residing in the couple’s matrimonial home in Neelankarai in Chennai.
Vijay and Sangeetha’s relationship stretches back nearly three decades. The couple had an interfaith marriage on August 25, 1999 in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony in Chennai.
Their first child, a son, was born on August 26 in 200 and a daughter followed in 2005.
Speculation about difficulties in the couple’s marriage first intensified in 2023 after Sangeetha was absent from several important public events involving Vijay. Although those reports were denied at the time, questions resurfaced in 2025 when she did not attend major political events organised by the TVK including the party’s second state conference.
