Running a batch file with Runtime.exec

I am trying to run some batch files from java as part of our
acceptance testing framework, and unfortunately the only way I seem to
be able to run a batch file on windows is like this:

Runtime.getRuntime().exec("cmd /c start " + batchFile);

However, it opens a comman window and doesnt go away till I close it,
and the tests require manual intervention to finish.

exec () should work just passing the name of the batch file, provided,
of course, that the directory of the batch file is in the Windows PATH
environment variable.