The Supreme Court will Friday hear a proposal by the Sahara Group to pay SEBI a substantial amount as surety to return investors the Rs.19,000 crore it had collected through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures.

Senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Sahara Group, told the apex court bench headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan that the group wishes to submit a substantial amount in a month and said the rest of the amount will be paid subsequently.

Counsel urged the court for an early hearing. The court directed the Sahara Group to submit its proposal to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and asked the market regulator to respond when the matter comes up for hearing Friday.