41 Power to seize documents etc.E+W+S
(1)If an officer has reason to believe that—
(a)a document or article carried on or by the driver of a vehicle, or
(b)a document produced to him in pursuance of this Act,
is a document or article in relation to which an offence has been committed under section 38 or 39, he may seize that document or article.
(2)Where—
(a)a document or article is seized under subsection (1),
(b)no person has, within six months of the date on which the document or article was seized, been charged since that date with an offence in relation to it under section 38 or 39, and
(c)the document or article is still detained,
then any of the persons mentioned in subsection (3) may make an application to a magistrates’ court or (in the case of an application made in Scotland) the sheriff.
(3)The persons who may make an application under subsection (2) are—
(a)an officer;
(b)the driver or owner of the vehicle;
(c)the person from whom the document was seized.
(4)On an application under subsection (2), the magistrates’ court or the sheriff shall—
(a)make such order respecting the disposal of the document or article, and
(b)award such costs or (in Scotland) expenses,
as the justice of the case may require.
(5)Any application made under subsection (2) to the sheriff shall be made by way of summary application.