Ten Mumbaikars learnt it the hard way when Swiss authorities sent formal requests to the Mumbai police asking them to recover fines ranging from Rs 9,000 to Rs 53,000 for speed limit violations in that country. The police have now served the letters rogatory to the violators. 

While there are two cases from 2013, the request includes cases since 2008. Switzerland is well-known for its huge fines for speeding violation and its doggedness in pursuing offenders even if they are from abroad. In January 2013, the country amended its law to include jail time for offenders. 

"We have served the LRs to the people mentioned," said Niket Kaushik, additional commissioner, crime. "The last few years have witnessed a noticeable rise in the number of letters rogatory we get from Switzerland. Although there are not many cases, the fines imposed are quite high." 

In fact, in special cases, Swiss authorities calculate the fine based on the offenders income. A Swedish man who topped 300 kmph in his sports car in 2010 faced a fine of $1 million, which was calculated by multiplying his daily income by the above-limit speed as per a report in Mumbai Mirror.

Kaushik's Crime Branch is the nodal agency for Interpol in the state and its Extradition Cell is assigned the job of implementing LRs and other legal documents. The LRs specify the place, date and time of the traffic rule violation and ask the driver to pay the fine or face two years probation time. Indian passport holders usually pay the fine and settle the matter, sources said. 

There were four LRs (a formal request from one country's court to a foreign country) issued against Indian drivers in 2008 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court, but no fine has been specified. The year 2009 saw one LR issued in the name of one Chandan Khanna by the Kanton Solothurn court for speeding. He was fined 150 Swiss Franc (Rs 9,000).