The high court in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has temporarily re-instated a eunuch as mayor of the town of Katni.

It is the first time such a post has been held by a eunuch.

Kamla Jaan was elected mayor of Katni, about 400 kilometres from the state capital, Bhopal, in January 2000, from a constituency seat reserved for women candidates.

But last month, a lower court nullified Kamla Jaan's election, saying that it disagreed about the winner's sex.

The judge had ruled that the eunuch was a man.

Lawyers for Kamla Jaan challenged the verdict, saying she figured as a woman in the electoral rolls and no one had raised any objection to that at the time of her election.

The high court will hear the case again in November.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service