| K. W. Devanayagam | |
| Native Name: | க. வி. தேவநாயகம் |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Office1: | Minister of Justice |
| Term Start1: | 1977 |
| Term End1: | 1980 |
| Successor1: | Nissanka Wijeratne |
| Office2: | Minister of Home Affairs |
| Constituency Mp3: | Kalkudah |
| Parliament3: | Ceylonese |
| Term Start3: | 1965 |
| Term End3: | 1989 |
| Predecessor3: | P. Manicavasagam |
| Birth Date: | 26 March 1910 |
| Party: | United National Party |
| Alma Mater: | St. Joseph's College, Colombo Ceylon Law College |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Blank1: | Ethnicity |
| Data1: | Sri Lankan Tamil |
| Blank2: | Religion |
| Data2: | Roman Catholic |
Deshamanya Kanapathipillai William "Bill" Devanayagam (26 March 1910 - 17 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician, government minister and Member of Parliament.
Devanayagam was born on 26 March 1910.[1] A Roman Catholic, Devanayagam was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2] [3] A keen sportsman, he captained the school's cricket team in 1930 and was the East Ceylon champion in tennis.[2] [3] After school Devanayagam joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as a proctor.[2]
Devanayagam practised law in Kalkudah, Batticaloa District for many years.[2] [3]
Devanayagam stood as an independent candidate for Kalkudah at the 1947 parliamentary election but was defeated by V. Nalliah.[4] He contested the 1965 parliamentary election as a United National Party candidate. He won the election and entered Parliament.[5] He was re-elected at the 1970 and 1977 parliamentary elections.[6] [7] He was appointed Minister of Justice in July 1977.[8] He became Minister of Home Affairs in February 1980.[3] [9]
Devanayagam died on 17 December 2002.[2] [3]