Mumbai, March 28: The Dalals had more faith in their astrologer than in their lawyer. The lawyer may or may not be proved right, but his clients will not be around to learn the truth.

The Dalals ? Balkrishna, his wife Sonal and their daughter Pooja ? this morning leaped to death from their eighth-floor apartment in Malabar Hill, one of the most coveted addresses in Mumbai.

After seven years of defending themselves in a Mumbai court against charges of driving his parents to death ? they committed suicide by jumping from the same apartment ? Balkrishna, 48, feared that he and Sonal, 45, could be convicted in the case.

The final verdict in the case was to be delivered today. But at 6.30 am, the spare-parts dealer roped in his wife and Pooja, 19, and the three flung themselves out of the window of the apartment in Grand Paradi housing complex.

A sleepy watchman of Grand Paradi heard a loud thud and discovered the Dalal family in a pool of blood right below their apartment. The Malabar Hill police found a suicide note in the apartment, saying the trio was ?fed up with life?.

The verdict was later postponed to April 12 and their lawyer Majeed Memon insisted that they are likely to be acquitted due to lack of evidence.

?I met them last week and told them that they are likely to be acquitted in the case. They were happy to hear that and even offered me sweets. I believe they then consulted some astrologer who told them otherwise. I had no inkling that they would do something like this,? Memon told The Telegraph.

But police took Memon?s claim with a pinch of salt, saying they had a strong case against the Dalals. Police investigations showed that Balkrishna?s parents, Vasudeo and Tara, had jumped to death from the same apartment in a similar manner on June 14, 1998.

The police found a suicide note in Vasudeo?s handwriting, saying that they were ending their lives following harassment from their son and daughter-in-law.

On the basis of the suicide note, the police arrested Balkrishna and Sonal two days later on charges of abetment.

During the seven-year trial, the manager of Grand Paradi testified against Balkrishna and his wife and said they wanted the flat transferred in their name. Vasudeo?s sister Nalini, too, said Balkrishna and his wife abused and harassed her brother.

?It is possible that the family feared an adverse verdict in the case, and could have decided to take this extreme step. This could be a probable reason. We are investigating the case,? deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar said.

The Dalals did not seem to have had an affluent lifestyle.

?Though they lived in a posh locality, when we saw their flat it looked like they were not doing well financially. For the last five years, Balkrishna?s spare-parts business wasn?t doing well. We suspect that they were in debt. The neighbours said the family did not mingle with anyone,? said sub-inspector Gokul Raut of Malabar Hill police station.